Star Fox: Aparoid Chronicles
by Hopeless-Tyronos
Summary: So you think you know what happened huh? Well I can tell you that the government only told you what they wanted you to hear. I know what really happened... Because I was there. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Crazy Idea I had while playing Star Fox Assault the other day, and it has been growing on me since I started my new job and spent countless hours of my shift staring at the floor. Hopefully I can put a nice spin on this story, don't get me wrong, I liked playing Assault. Anyways hope you enjoy, and please for the love of god don't compare this to Star Fox Saga notfromeath7 did an amazing job on Star Fox 64. And I really don't need that pressure thrown at me lol. But that's enough from lil ol' me.

Disclaimer: I dont own Star Fox. Star Fox belongs to Nintendo. Tyronos belongs to me. All that other jazz can belong to who picks it.(or plays it... lol music joke)

BEGIN!

* * *

I suppose I should introduce myself. In all reality I could care less though. The less you know about me the better for us both. All I will tell you is that my parents abandoned me when I was 8. I lived with my grandfather on the outskirts of Corneria until the Lylat wars. I'm sure you heard about how the 'great' Star Fox team saved the world from a horrible fate.

But I know one person they didn't save. So how could they honestly be so great?

My grandfather, god rest his soul, died in that battle holding off Venom's forces to give the Star Fox team the time they needed to destroy the satellite. He died and got nothing, no medals, no pay check, He barely got a moment of silence at the end of the day. How can anyone that means so much get so little?

This all happened while I was in the Flight Academy. I was pulled aside during a lecture of safe piloting and given a flag, a pat on the shoulder, and a salute.

"_He was a great fighter. I am truly sorry for your loss…"_

Bullshit.

He had hundreds of thousands of troops ready to die for him at a moment's notice. How the fuck could he have known my grandfather personally? Give him a general title and he is suddenly everyone's friend I guess.

Classmates were sympathetic, offering me mundane items such as a place to stay or food. At that point of my life I couldn't be bothered with trying to exist. My parents abandoned me, no siblings, no one but my grandfather. Now he was gone.

You'd better believe I swore vengeance before finally letting grief sink in. I turned that grief and held it inside for as long as I could, until it took me over. I stood up from my desk without a word and left. Walk straight out of the academy, to HQ past every officer until I stood outside the General's door. I grasped the handle, voices could be heard inside. Something about having to hurry, I couldn't care enough to listen. The door busted open and 4 figures ran right past me. I yelled at them to watch it, clearly unheard.

"_Who killed my grandfather!?"_ I remember yelled as I stormed into the nearly empty office.

"_Who are you, boy?"_ Who did he think he was calling me boy? I was 17 years old, homeless, alone and now furious. I'd say I was an adult.

"_Who killed my fucking Grandfather?" _I was getting more and more enraged by the second. _"He died on the diversionary mission you called for to assist Star Fox! You gave me a fucking flag a few days ago, how could you not fucking remember me?"_

"_Oh… call sign "Kojic" I am sorry for your loss. But the only lead we have on that is Oikonny_."

That was all I needed to know, I turned around and left.

"_You can't honestly be going after him! It's hopeless."_ The general tried to warn me.

But the hopelessness… Was all I had left.

And I continued walking. I didn't look back. I waited outside and allowed my anger to consume me. I swore revenge, I swore vengeance.

I did a lot of things after I left General Pepper's office. Most I'm not proud of. I trained myself how to pilot the famed Star Fox fighter, the arwing, after I stole one out of the repair shop. Took me almost 2 years to get the parts, with smuggling and the like. Once I had a usable ship I took over to find this 'Oikonny'.

During this time I had become a bounty hunter and Merc. Kinda the same thing, but the bounty hunter part of me lasted for 2 years, I'd calmed down somewhat. I began saving folks instead of hunting them… it felt better. Like this was something my grandfather could be proud of me for. A lot of random shit happened to me over the next 5 years. I was sent to other systems as an ambassador of goodwill. I slipped in and out of reality, saved a planet, and a plethora of other such deeds.

But still, my angered resided in my heart. Only one person had been able to calm my burning heart, and she is no longer among the living, but that is another story, for another time.

After her death I received a message. The sender? General Pepper himself. The message? 'Oikonny' declares war. And he wants all available personal to attend. I was only too happy to accept.

Now my anger has taken over again. The desire to avenge my grandfather had taken priority, Andrew Oikonny' was going to die. And no one was going to steal my vengeance.

You asked my name earlier. I've told you too much for you to not know who I am. I've put you into a lot of trouble, and now you will have to know everything that has happened up till this point.

My name is Tyronos, call-sign 'Hopeless'

And this is how the Aparoid War really went.

* * *

**Now** that the OC has been introduced. I can start on with the actual story. Yes, the OC is pretty much my pen name. I would have named him different but I was too lazy and couldn't really care about names when I typed this out*Deep breath* This will get better i promise!

Don't kill me if this goes sour!

Peace,

H-T


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter contains reference to drugs. If that offends you... to bad.

* * *

**Ty's PoV**

I guess it all began with the call. Pepper had called me with a mission. My first in a long time. I was to assist the Cornerian army with the destruction of Andross's Fleet. Seemed simple enough, the price was right and I signed onto the mission. When I asked for a briefing on what exactly was left in the forces still loyal to Andross I was told that he would brief me and another merc team at the same time. Since when was I on a team? Pepper's misplaced and misguided words only encouraged me to find out who he had mistaken to be on my 'team'. I decided now wasn't the time to dwell on it, and set a course for the Cornerian Armada. At my current speed it would only take me two and a half hours to reach them, long before the scheduled attack. I assumed the two groups were at a standstill in the negotiations of terms of surrender. Pepper's message would have been urgent had things gone sour. He knew better then to make me race to a treaty signing. As I flew towards the likely battle site I couldn't help but wonder. Would today be the day I finally avenge my grandfather? Or would it be like so many other were I promised I'd get that scum Oikonny, if it was the last thing I did. After rechecking my ship's condition I set the auto pilot and closed my eyes. I wasn't really tired; I just had a lot on my mind. My grandfather's words of wisdom floated in my head, I smiled as I heard him say the words. It was all I had left from him. And I wasn't going to lose them. A final thought crossed my mind before I finally succumbed to slumber. '_Why had Pepper called me to kill a few of Andross's followers?_' That seemed like the kind of job he'd send Star Fox on. They knew to call only when things seemed Hopeless. Maybe there was something he wasn't telling me. I finally slept; visions of revenge clouded my dreams. I desperately wanted her alive, only she could cure this disease. Thinking of her only hastened the violence. This dream I wanted to wake up from, but how could I escape what I've created? I knew it wasn't my fault she had died. But I twisted the facts and made it my fault, for what I was.

But like I said, a different story, for another time.

**Normal PoV

* * *

**

"Command. Unidentified Ship approaching." A dog, who couldn't have been over 20 said into his headset. The ship slowed as if it wanted to be hailed. "Permission to hail, sir?"

"This is command, permission granted." General Pepper answered. The old hound folded his hands behind his back and slowly paced around the control room, ensuring everyone was doing their assigned duty. The ship came up on the hologram and slowly spun around.

"Unidentified Vessel, this is the Cornerian Army Juggernaut _'Sword', _you are within firing range, please identify yourself or you will be shot down." The dog said firmly, the well trained speech delivered without hesitation or trembling in his voice.

'_Damn._' Tyronos thought. _'This kid means business. Trigger happy little fuck probably wants me to be an enemy.' _He put his headset on and opened the link to the ship. "This is Tyronos, call sign 'Hopeless', Ship: _Kojic_, it won't be in your records so don't bother looking. I know General Pepper can hear me so just let me board and we won't have a problem now will we?"

"Hold on for a minute." The dog switched back to command, General Pepper nodded at him.

"It's alright Corporal, Tyronos is friendly." He said and turned to leave the room. "Contact me when the other's reach the battleground."

'_We don't even use call signs anymore… how can the General be so trusting of these Mercs?' _The corporal thought. He shook his head and switched back to the open link. "Call sign 'Hopeless', you are cleared to land in Hanger A, welcome aboard the '_Sword'_. '_Let's hope this isn't a mistake.'_

"And here I thought I was going to hang around outside all day." Tyronos flew into the hanger and landed his craft. He quickly opened the canopy and jump out, quickly inspecting his fighter. It looked similar to the arwings Star Fox used but with certain modifications. His N-bomb launcher could shoot up to three bombs at a time, Dual mounted lasers with multi-lock up to 4 targets. He even converted some shield power to the boosters for sustained boost, figuring if the enemy couldn't keep up they couldn't hit him. He hadn't worried too much on appearance but he did put his logo in the same place Star Fox's would have been. Instead his wasn't an animal, it was simply 'HT' with lightning swirling around it. Tyronos walked underneath it letting his hand brush along the grey metal. '_I seriously need to replace a few parts on this old bird. Smuggling hasn't been easy lately and no money has ruled out doing it legally.'_

"Sir?" A female voice broke his thoughts. Tyronos turned to face her. A pretty, younger minx, clearly whipped into military shape, saluted him smartly. He returned it with a nod. "General Pepper requests you message him from the bridge." She turned on her heel and motioned him to follow. As he followed soldiers began running past them.

"Seems negotiations went south." He said trying to start up a conversation. The minx turned her head back to respond.

"With the Androsses we never expect an easy end to the conflict." They reached the elevator and she hit the floor number for him. "Just walk straight ahead, you can't miss it. If you'll excuse me." She took off for the hanger.

'_Never thought I'd see the 'great' Cornerian army so prepared for a fight. Maybe this mission might actually be fun.' _Tyronos waited for the elevator to stop before walking out and into the bridge. He overlooked the soon-to-be battlefield. At least 20 other Juggernauts had appeared since he arrived. '_Fortuna looks so peaceful. When I retire I might just come live out here._' Retirement was of course, out of the question. His live was set, forced into Mercenary work, he would now likely die then make it to that golden age of tranquility. He shook his head and walked to the hologram. "Tyronos to General Pepper."

"Pepper to Tyronos. Glad they didn't hold you outside." General Pepper saluted him. Again he nodded in return. "Now as you no doubt have guessed negotiations didn't turn out to plan. Andross's minions are now preparing to attack. We are prepared to use deadly force."

"Mind if I cut you off there?" Tyronos walked around to see the battlefield once more. "What point is there for me being here? This is a job better suited to a group of mercs, not just one." He turned back to face the general. "What was so important for me to be here asap?"

Pepper sighed. "The new leader of the revolt, it's someone you have been searching for." Pepper looked back, as if tapped on the shoulder. He nodded and waved the person away. "Tyronos I have to give orders to the ship captains. I will brief you more once the orders have been given out. Pepper out."

The image faded. Tyronos closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. '_Someone I've been searching for.'_ His eyes popped back open, thousands of possibilities disburses away to one simple solution. "Oikonny!" His eyes narrowed and he growled. How could Pepper just leave him now? The beast within himself was now bursting through. Uncontrollable rage, hatred, and sorrow now surged into his heart. There was no way he could fight like this, not when he wasn't in control. He needed to relax, needed to calm his body and mind. He walked to the command chair and sat down. He brought out the laptop closed the screen. He pulled a small bag out of his pocket and began his second favorite illegal activity.

* * *

"Remnants of Andross' butchers! You've kept us busy but now we have you outnumbered."

"No quarter show these dogs we mean business!"

Tyronos was quickly pulled out of his daze. "Oikonny!" He snickered at the name. '_I should tell him how funny his name sounds.'_ This only made him laugh harder. He left the bridge and made his way to his ship.

"All ships battle formation V!"

"Man that guy sounds so serious." Tyronos laughed again, whatever he had smoked was definitely a good buy. "All ships battle formation W!" he laughed at his own mock. His ship looked different somehow. He blamed the drug and opened the canopy and readied his ship.

"Detecting warp gate signature from outside the combat zone." The voice seemed concerned.

'_Maybe he wasn't expecting anymore reinforcements; maybe the enemy had called in for support. Maybe I just talk to myself way to fucking much! Yeah… that's gotta be it!' _ Tyronos waited for the ship captain to clear him.

"Great Fox? Command! It's the Star Fox team!" The voice was now excited. It was obvious that guy loved the famous team.

"Star Fox? Well fucking huzzah!"Tyronos growled. The last time he had seen the Star Fox team they rushed past him at Pepper's office. Now here it was almost 9 years later and he still held a grudge against the team. "My grandfather would still be alive if it wasn't for their desperate need for a diversionary assault." Another thing that angered him was that his story was similar to Fox's. He lost his parents when he was young; he quit the academy early to pursue revenge. Hell he'd even saved the system like Fox did. Yet he had none of the fame or the fortune that Fox McCloud did. It wasn't fair.

"We'll Fox is seems we're not too late." Tyronos heard Pepper say as he launched his ship.

"Yup, of course general!" Was Fox's reply. Tyronos scoffed at his cockiness, and cut the link.

"I'll show these guys how it's done. I don't need a full team to completely destroy Oikonny and his followers. You hear me Oikonny?! You are going down this day, and my revenge will finally be complete!" Tyronos flew towards the enemy a bestial roar singled the beginning of the end.

* * *

**Great Fox Hanger**

"Communications line green." Fox reported after his craft had fully powered up. The other 3 ships showed up, all of them glowing green as well.

"The outcome of this battle depends on you, team. Are you all ready?" Peppy question needed no answer. "Launch all ships!" The four arwings were launched from the hanger and set directly into combat.

'_Feels good to be flying again.'_ Fox thought as they engaged the enemy. "All ships avoid the armada's fire! Aim for Oikonny's Flagship!" Fox fired his guns, taking out a few ships. _'Still got it.'_

Slippy charged out ahead. "Here we go!!" He chased after a group of 3 fighters. Firing wildly, his attention based only on the kill shots.

"Hey, Slippy don't get cocky!" Krystal scolded him. _'His back is totally open; he's likely to get shot down if he keeps this up!"_

"Slippy! You've already got bogeys on your tail!" Falco yelled as he boosted to catch up.

"Uh-oh, I'm in trouble!" Slippy narrowly avoided a few shots from the enemy but also took a few hits.

'_That didn't take to fucking long.'_ Krystal thought. She wondered how a Slippy, a pilot 8 years her elder could so easily be distracted by kills. She watched Falco shoot all the enemies trailing the toad.

"You haven't changed a bit frog-boy." Falco flew towards the new group of enemies coming out of the next ship.

"The weak point is in the middle, the purple energy shield!" Fox said as he took down a ship. "All ships aim for the energy shield, take down those ships!" He quickly headed for the next ship. '_Oikonny's line formation makes this way too easy.'_

"Corneria Army now commencing third volley of cannon fire." Rob said emotionlessly, before going back to viewing the battle. "Andross's ships are being destroyed one after another."

"We can't give up now!" Falco took out another group of fighters before flying to Slippy to assist.

"Andross's fleet is dead ahead! They're everywhere." Slippy yelled his radar had multiple red dots surrounding his entire arwing.

"Calm down Slippy and remember what Fox said, the weak point is the purple energy shield!" Krystal boosted to catch up to her team leader.

"Alright. Falco and Slippy go left. Krystal and Fox hit right. Everyone strike now!" Peppy ordered, the team split into two and began destroying everything in sight.

"Right! Hit them hard and don't hold back!" Krystal flew ahead of Fox and shot down some fighters. "Hit the Cruiser Fox, I'll deal with the fighters."

"Got it!" Fox fired a nova bomb at the cruiser; it hit the shield dead on and instantly destroyed the ship.

"Not exactly subtle are you?" Krystal giggled at the destructive tendencies of her leader.

"Gotta be sure they can't get back up!" They flew towards the next ship, easily destroying it as well. "Falco, Slip. How are things on your end?"

"Fine as they can get with Slip-up around." Falco shot down some fighters before looping back and firing a nova bomb at the cruiser. "Might as well be on my own."

"Just keep on blasting through everything!" Fox noticed a new enemy appear in front of him. "What's that? Some kind of prototype?" The enemy looked like a single manned robot shaped like monkey dressed up as a knight. The grey knight assumed an offensive pose. A small piece of the machine snapped off and floated above the enemy.

"That beam's devastating! Watch out Fox!" Peppy yelled as the info on this mechanical creature appeared on his screen. "Roll to deflect its attack!" Fox did as he was told and sent the purple beam of energy straight back at his attacker, he followed up with a volley of laser fire and turned his would be attacker into scrap metal.

"Nice shot Fox!" Krystal followed behind him as they shot down some more of the few remaining Cruisers. The team reassembled and headed towards the flagship.

"Got something on radar, its quick and heading this way!" Slippy looked around outside his ship but saw no enemy. Suddenly 2 ships appeared in front of the team.

"Stealth squadron, look out!" Krystal and Slippy both somersaulted to get behind Fox and Falco who shot both lasers and nova bombs at the ships, making short work of Oikonny's secret weapon.

"Too easy!" Falco yelled as they sped through space.

"Combat detected 4 miles northeast, no cornerian army presences noted." Rob made the screen come up on theirs. The screen showed the battlefield and the two parties involved. "Record of this fight indicates a single ship has taken out a quarter of their fleet."

"Damn who is that?" Fox asked.

Peppy scanned through the ships on file. It came to a stop and he opened the file, he gasped. "It's another arwing. This one was in development years ago, but was scraped when the project became compromised. This is the guy who delayed arwing development for 6 years!"

"What's he doing assisting us then?" Falco demanded. Everyone else listened in, shooting down fighters as they drifted closer to Oikonny's flagship.

"I believe I can answer that." Pepper's voice startled everyone. "His name is Tyronos, He is a mercenary just like you guys. Oikonny is his target. You are to assist but not engage until he has understood?"

"Come on, you hired two groups of Mercenaries to do one job?" Falco huffed and gripped his controls. "Whoever gets there first gets the prize." Falco set his boosters to full and charged towards Oikonny.

"Fox, what should we do?" Krystal looked over at his ship. His thoughts were a mess.

'_That name sounds so familiar.'_ Fox shrugged the thought out of his head and took a steadying breath. "Sorry General, I intend to End Oikonny's war before it turns into another Andross conflict. All ships, charge the Flagship! Bring him down!"

"Our final line of defense has been broken through!" Oikonny's Ship master yelled. Oikonny grumbled and hit the controls of his Flagship.

"What is he some sort of demon?"Oikonny saw this lost cause of a battle but refused give up so quickly. '_Fortuna! I'll retreat to the base and get the drop on them!'_ A new plan in his head he quickly turned his ship around and began heading for Fortuna. "I'll handle this!"

Oikonny's fleet watched him turn and flee. "What? Your…" The ship was destroyed before the shipmaster could finish.

"The enemy flagship is heading for Fortuna!" Rob informed the team.

"As if we couldn't see his tail tucked between his legs already… Thanks for that little nugget of info." Falco growled. He knew the Arwing couldn't keep up with the ship, but he was going to try.

"Follow him into the atmosphere!" Fox quickly hit a few buttons on the control panel. "Adjust G-Diffusion output." He waited for all the ships to mimic his. "Let's go."

"I sense him." Krystal whispered. "Tyronos's ship is approaching at a high rate of speed!" Sure enough Tyronos boosted past the team. He barely missed hitting Falco's wing but turned at the last second.

"Hey Star Fox, no lagging behind now. I thought you wanted this bounty." Tyronos's face appeared on their screens. "Gonna have to catch up, Otherwise you'll have lots of scrap metal to shoot at!" He laughed disappearing into the atmosphere.

"Why that no good!" Falco boosted after him. "How can he make the Arwing go that fast? I thought ours were the top of the line?!"

"They are. This guy modified the hell out of it." Slippy said after looking at the spec's of Tyronos's craft.

"Hey Slippy, if he can do it, can you?" Krystal asked. She watched him nod after some thought.

"A lot of the upgrades are minor tweaks here and there. But, damn. How'd he manage to mount a tri-burst Nova Bomb Launcher?" Slippy snapped out of his technical day dream.

"Guys, enough!" Fox snapped. "We can talk about him and his ship later. Right now we have to focus on the mission at hand." They all refocused on the landscape of Fortuna.

"Oikonny may be hiding, Lying in wait." Peppy said after checking over his maps. "I want all of you to proceed with caution."

"Worrying a bit much aren't you gramps?" Falco leaned his head back and forth, slightly snapping his neck.

"Let's take it in low." Fox ordered and led the team through the Fortuna forest.

* * *

"Where the fuck is he?!" Tyronos said to no one. Oikonny's ship was way too big to just disappear. He reopened the fleet wide channel. By the sounds of things the space battle was done and over with. The few remaining ships surrendered. Now the only part of this revolt still kicking was Oikonny.

"Rob, Find that blackhearted ape's location!" Tyronos heard Fox's voice. Turning his sour mood even more sour. The robot responded. Tyronos looked on his radar. A lot of small fighters had bunched up at the base.

'_I should warn them. That base is going to be a trap.'_ A wicked grin appeared on his face. '_Then again, why not let them have something to shoot?'_ He flew off the trail and tried searching for the flagship by eye. "C'mon. C'mon. No point in hiding you sorry son of a bitch." He saw movement below him following a small valley. "That has to be him! No pilot in their right mind who box themselves in." He sped towards the ship, his revenge now clearly in sight.

* * *

"There he is! It's Oikonny!" Krystal led the team out of the newly opened doors.

Fox grinned. '_Sorry Ty. Looks like we win.'_ "You've got nowhere to run to Oikonny!"

'_Shit!'_ Oikonny cursed as he saw the four ships slowly gaining on him. "Bah. Persistent little pests aren't you?"

"Oikonny you ignorant ape. What are you up to?" Fox didn't like how he had slowed to almost a stop.

"Careful Fox, You never know what a cornered beast might do." Peppy watched the standoff on the screen. Knowing to well that Oikonny had a backup plan. It seemed every evil leader to come out of Venom had a plan B.

"That's enough hide and seek. I will show you my true power!" Oikonny's ship began to transform after is spun to face the Star Fox team. The four wings folded out and came together forming hands. The middle somehow turned into a face that looked a lot like Oikonny. "I must bring an end to our relationship! DIE!" The excess pieces fell off his ship, leaving a very familiar enemy for Fox to face.

"You think you can win? Don't make me laugh!" Fox charged towards Oikonny. His team followed him.

"OIKONNY!" Tyronos yelled. He flew past the team quickly taking out both hands before Slippy could even get the shield analysis completed. "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM! NOW I'LL AVENGE HIM!" Tyronos looped back and prepared his nova bombs for the final attack.

"What is this guy's problem?" Falco growled. "He just stole our prey."

"Assist him, watch out for the hands! They repair themselves in time if we don't keep them down!" Fox shot a volley of laser shots at the right hand, Falco followed suit. Krystal and Slippy kept the other hand down. Tyronos smiled at the Damaged ship.

"Hahahahaha!" Oikonny laughed. "Is that all you fools have got?" He forced the broken hands to grip together. "I am the one and only true heir to the great emperor Andross! The new Emperor Andrew Oikonny!" Suddenly beams of energy shot down, destroying Oikonny's ship, sending him plummeting to the ground below. "Uncle Andross!"

"NO!" Tyronos released the bombs, causing even more damage to the earth. "Damn it!" He smashed his fist against the center consol. "I was so close. Now my revenge has been taken from me."

"Reinforcements?" Fox asked Peppy. Before Peppy could respond a giant moth like monster appeared. The wings glowed many different bright colors, its body was a twisted mass of dark shades of purple.

"That doesn't look friendly." Falco charged his laser, preparing to engage the new enemy.

"Aparoid! Aparoid! Aparoid!" Rob blared. He clearly had info no one else did.

"Such strange thought patterns." Krystal thought out loud. The aparoid then tucked in its wings and twirled around, a beam of energy shot at Krystal. She screamed and barely managed to avoid the blast.

"No time to hesitative. Return fire!" Fox led the team into combat once again.

Tyronos hadn't moved since this new enemy had ruined his revenge. '_All these years, I finally had him Grandpa, but fate seems to want me to wait longer to avenge your death._' That was the problem with fate. It rarely worked out in a style of your choosing. The fire returned to his eyes. Lights inside his Arwing blinked on and off. A single word whispered into his brain, it slowly got louder and louder until his mind screamed at him. '_Kill. Kill. KILL!" _It happened in a blur, nova bombs cascaded along the group smashing into its multiple targets. He took off toward the now growing group of the moth like creatures.

The Star Fox team heard Tyronos's howl of torment before watching him speed off, nova bombs dropping dangerously close to their ships. The wings of the moth they faced had nearly been completely destroyed, but still it flew like nothing had hit it.

"Damn." Slippy said finally. Everyone agreed. Whatever Tyronos had planned for Oikonny he now put to use against theses Moth like aparoids.

"Ok, shoot off the wings!" Fox snapped everyone's attention. They all managed to take down two wings a piece. "Alright nice job everyone."

"This isn't over Fox look!" The aparoid screeched at its attackers. It flew back a few yards and began spinning, the beam cutting into the earth. After a few more spins the Moth flew high into the air, the huge chunks of earth following it. "Ah Shit. Everyone move out of the way of those boulders!" The team easily dodged the rocks, only a few smaller pieces managed to hit their ships. The newly enraged aparoid came flying back down, letting out another screech.

"Shut up already!" Krystal said, firing a Nova Bomb at the creature's mouth. "A little more now guys! Aim for the mouth that pink ball is the weak point!" Everyone fired at once. The creature fell to the ground in a massive explosion.

"Bigger they are, the harder they fall… When are we going to get some real competition?" Falco rested his hands behind his head.

"Wait whats that?" Fox slowed his arwing down enough to see a glowing yellow object in the middle of the cracked pink ball.

"I don't believe it. Fox, you have to get that!" Peppy, with some serious hidden info, yelled.

Fox was taken aback by the old hare's outburst. "Really? Well, ok." He landed close to the broken body and collected the object.

"Might I suggest that we leave this planet?"

Fox looked up to see Tyronos's arwing and the trail of Aparoids following it. "He's right! Everyone evac to the Great Fox." Fox quickly climbed up into his arwing and took off towards the Great Fox.

* * *

"Fox, General Pepper just sent us a message. He wants us to host Tyronos for a while." Peppy didn't sound too happy about this news.

"Great now we have to baby sit some cocky kid?" Falco whined.

"You think I want anything to do with you guys?" Tyronos snapped back. "After 9 years of searching I finally get my chance at revenge and I have to fight for it? Since when did Star Fox interfere with personal vendettas?"

"Calm down. Jeez we didn't steal your vengeance, that aparoid thing did." Fox tried to halt the argument before it got too out of hand.

"You're one to talk. You had a full team assist yours. I've had nothing but myself since my grandfather died in a diversion to help YOUR team complete the satellite mission." Tyronos hid his face from view, tears slowly sliding down his face. "Or did you forget how many died in order to assist your vendetta?"

Fox stared blankly into space. "I couldn't forget all the noble sacrifices the Cornerian Army gave in order to make my mission a success. I am sorry for your loss, but what has happened has happened." He sounded like he had more to say but kept quiet.

"You get all the fame, just because your James McCloud's son. I've done just about every fucking thing you've done for this system. All I asked in return was payment and vengeance. Now I have neither." Tyronos knew he hit a nerve, but he didn't care if Fox was as truly sorry as he said he'd understand his pain.

Fox gritted his teeth. "I never asked to be famous. I never asked to be pushed into war after war, mission after mission. All I know that this system needed a hero, and my team fit the bill. It's not my fault that terrible things have happened to you or that your deeds went unrecognized. General Pepper has asked us to host you for a while, now fly your fucking arwing into that hanger and be grateful that everyone here understands the type of pain you're feeling right now." Fox cut the link to the arwings and led them into the hanger. Tyronos landed on the bottom of the hanger as the rest of the ships hovered until the lift locks reengaged and pull them back to their resting place. Tyronos sighed as he watched the team head to the bridge for the debriefing. He turned around to face the stars, the hanger door slowly closing.

'_This mission isn't worth the price.'_ He slowly made his way to the top of the hanger. "This place better have a map."

* * *

**Alrighty then**! This is my crazy attempt at retelling a story they made into a game. I'm going to try and stick to the original dialogue as much as I can but obviously there will be some changes. Clearly I'm not going to make Fox out to be the only savior in the group, or the only one who can seem to shoot a boss… C'mon. How hard is it to design AI to shoot just one messily laser at a boss. Its right in front of you! PRESS A BITCH, PRESS A!

Reminder: Tyronos is an OC(yes, just a regular OC) based off me and I will be using him to point out a few plot holes I've noticed playing SF: Assault. Along with a few other twists.

Anywho review, tell me how it is or (lol wtf are you on dude?)

20 bonus points as to who can guess the narcotic!(drug)(Shouldnt be too hard.)

Peace,

H-T


	3. Chapter 3

So in case you're wondering, Chapter format will be mission by mission, unless I want to cut it in half. Hopefully it hasn't been too hard to follow thus far. If it has sorry my bad, deal. =D

I'm gonna stop talking now.

**Queue** plot.

* * *

**Great Fox Hanger**

After a fourth unsuccessful attempt at finding his way around the Great Fox, Tyronos sat down on the wing of his Arwing. He sighed. This day wasn't going well for him. He was forced into this mission, forced to team up with Star Fox, and worse forced to lose his vengeance. Tyronos slammed his fist down onto the unforgiving steel of his craft.

"This is so fucking stupid." He muttered bitterly. "How can Pepper just toss me onto this ship? Do I look like some solider just willing to take orders?" He took a calming breath. "I'm stuck here, at least for now. Once Pepper contacts us again I'm out of here." His wrist com beeped a few times, drawing his attention. "Speak of the fucking devil." He hit a few buttons and reached into his arwing for his hologram projecter. "General."

"Tyronos, good to see you haven't left yet." Pepper wore his usual military stare. "Are you with the Star Fox crew?"

"No, and they're being terrible hosts, left me in the hanger to find my way to the bridge. Can't find the fucking thing either." Tyronos folded his arms.

"Uh, it not that hard to find, just walk down the hall all the way to the end and turn left. Elevator is right there, hit B and you'll be there in no time." Pepper explained it to him like he was stupid. '_How could anyone not know the layout of the Great Fox?'_

Tyronos growled and jumped off the wing, the hologram floating infront of him. "Well, isn't that just a use piece of info, couldn't tell me that before you forced me to team up with these guys?"

"You never would have agreed to it given the choice. And with your state after the encounter I didn't think you should have been alone." Pepper heard him scoff. "I know you hate Star Fox, but I need the five of you for this, the aparoids can't be taken lightly Corneria needs all the skilled fighters it can get."

"Then why put me with them? I could be more use to you guarding Corneria, not flying in space with a team that sure as fuck doesn't trust me." Tyronos finally made it to the elevator and pressed the up button.

"I've already talked to them about it. Also as you're willing to give this a chance so are they. Whether it works out or not is regardless because you're stuck with them and vice versa until this conflict is resolved." Pepper's tone offered no argument, Tyronos nodded, trying to focus his mind. "I have forgiven your past deeds. Try not to let them cloud your judgement."

"My past is under control." Tyronos lied. '_I couldn't be anymore trapped on this fucked up thrill ride of a life.'_

Pepper looked at him skeptically. "I won't press the issue. I have to brief you and your team about the situation."

Tyronos walked into the elevator. "This isn't my team." With that he hit the 'B' button and cut the link between him and Pepper.

* * *

**Great Fox Bridge**

"Alright, as much as I hate to say it Tyronos is a member of this team for this mission." Peppy explained to the others, receiving groans and disbelieving sighs from them. "Look General Pepper ordered it and now we have to deal. He also told us to be easy with him, as he doesn't normally work with a team or deal with other people very often."

"So let him go off and do his own thing, we don't need him." Falco blurted unable to remain as calm as everyone else.

"Apparently we do so I suggest you start liking the idea of another team mate." Peppy snapped. He clearly wasn't too impressed with the idea either but had choose to deal with it.

"Fox you seriously aren't going to let that guy join are you? He's a bounty hunter, a thug just like the guys we killed today." Falco looked at Fox, expecting him to agree. Fox continued looking out into space, oblivious to the conversation taking place. "Fox?"

Fox slowly turned in his command chair to face his friend. "You are a former gang member, I expect you two to get along famously." Falco shook his head in disbelief.

"We may have a common backround from that perspective, but I won't be compared to him. He stole government property, something I'd never do." Falco sat down at his chair.

"Everyone, General Pepper gave us an order." Fox stood up, everyone watched his movements. "Even if it sounds like the worst idea I've ever heard we will carry it out."

The sound of the elevator door opening drew everyone's attention. Tyronos exited the elevator and stared back. An awkward silence filled the room. "The fuck you all staring at?"

"The guy who ruined arwing development for the last six years." Falco said and swung his chair back around to face space.

"The guy who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical supplies and parts." Slippy continued working on his newest invention.

"Didn't he also hack into the government's defense grid?" Fox questioned scratching his chin.

"Guys shut it." Peppy said taking his glasses off and cleaning him.

"For all those crimes you've committed. You only have guilt for one thing." Krystal focused on his thoughts. She tried to delve deeper into his mind but suddenly felt a shock run through her body. She fell to one knee and rubbed her head. "How can you stop my telepathy?"

"How the fuck should I know? I never had a good grip on my past." Tyronos folded his arms and glared at his new team mates. "Anyone else want to take a shot while I'm here. Better do it now while the trends catching on." No one spoke. "For all the horrible things I've done, all of it never would have happened, if..." he let that thought drop before it went to far. "Look. I never asked to become what I have, but the past is done, and now I'm concentrating on the future. I would like it for you guys to do the same."

"You honestly think we can trust you?" Falco didn't move his head, to acknowledge Tyronos's presence.

"I'd call you stupid if you did." Tyronos responded. "If you trusted everyone completely the first time you met them you're secrets would be known to the world. Life as a bounty hunter teaches you to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Problem with that is I've never trusted people enough to befriend them."

"Incoming message from, General Pepper." Rob's unemotional voice seemed to break the tension.

"Look if you guys don't want to trust me that's fine by me. I prefer not to get to attached to anyone I know. They tend to die." Tyronos rested his back against the wall and stared hard at his feet.

'_This is going to be harder to deal with then I thought.'_ Fox turned to the hologram. "Patch him through Rob."

General Pepper faded into vision and the lights of the bridge dimmed. "Everyone head closely to what I'm about to say." Everyone looked at the old hound, even Tyronos looked up from his feet. "The Lylat system is in peril."

"How do you know?" Fox questioned. "I mean we only fought that thing barely 30 minutes ago."

"We know. The research director will brief you on the details." General Pepper faded from view and in his place a short toad named Beltino, who wore an outfit that suited a person of his stature.

"Hello again everybody!" He said waving to the small group. Slippy gasped at the image.

"Dad? You never told me you were the research director!" Slippy felt a little hurt to be deceived by his dad.

"Oh. Didn't I tell you? Anyway if I may continue these things called Aparoids…" Beltino was cut off again this time by Fox.

" Aparoids?"

"Yes, it was the enemy you faced earlier. I believe it was seventeen years ago. A soul aparoid appeared and took out an entire fleet. We were barely able to escape alive." Beltino stared onto space for a second, remembering the horrors of that encounter. "We are currently analyzing the core memory you found. But we could understand much more if we had a complete specimen."

Pepper suddenly appeared again. "We have detected a distress signal originating from the Katina Outpost. We haven't gotten a response. You must find the source of it, we suspect apariod involvement."

Fox nodded. "You can count on us General." The hound disappeared from view and the lights brightened as Fox began his strategy. "Alright I'm going to go to the surface and find that signal."

"By yourself? It's too dangerous I'm going too!" Krystal stated firmly. Fox looked at her and smiled.

"I want you in an arwings covering me from above, Along with the others." Fox turned his gaze to Tyronos. "That includes you." Tyronos nodded and turned to leave.

"Alright lets go team!" The five fighters raced to their ships.

Peppy over looked the upcoming battle field. "Rob set a course to Katina. Then prepare a room for our guest."

"Affirmitive."

* * *

**Katina Outpost** – **30 minutes later**

Fox landed his arwing outside the outpost and drew his blaster. He cautiously made his way to the opening. "It's quiet." He thought out loud. "Too quiet." As soon as he passed the door an alarm went off. "What the…? It's a trap!" Seemly hundreds of aparoids appeared out of nowhere. He quickly shot at a few attackers. '_One shot one kill. Alright maybe this isn't so bad after all.'_ Most of the enemies had an arachnid feel too them, having four legs instead of eight, they moved very mechanical like. Another enemy took a few more shots to kill but still didn't take much effort was the one that looked like a mix between a wedge, and a tank. Fox took out at least 30 of these two enemies before finally seeing what looked like a giant version of the small spider like aparoids. Fox took a shot at it only to watch it disappear into a shield.

"Fox, charge your blaster!" Peppy said watching the battle from the Great Fox. "Use your radar, watch out for enemy ambushes!"

Fox looked at his radar after blasting the bigger aparoid into pieces and narrowly dodged an attack from a charging enemy. This one looked similar to the one he just killed. '_Not much for originality.'_ He shot at the aparoid and killed it. "How are things looking from your end guys?"

"Skies are being taken care of, not enough bogeys for the hot shot up here." Falco shot down a few flying aparoids. The design of them must have been modeled after insects.

"Having trouble keeping up?" Tyronos grinned. "Up to forty kills already Falco, are you sure you are the ace pilot?" Falco growled and went on a killing frenzy.

"Both of you better stop acting like kids." Slippy shot down an enemy, pumping his arms in victory.

Fox sighed and shook his head. He charged his laser and took out the other large enemy on his radar. "Whew… There's no end to these things, Peppy sends me a land master will ya?"

"It's on its way." Peppy targeted the battle field and began the transfer." How's the situation down there Fox?"

"I've got my hands full, but what else is new?" Fox recharged his blaster and shot at a few more advancing aparoids.

"Let me know if you get lonely, I'll drop by." Falco took out a few more enemies, not really wanting to get out done by their new ally.

"Nah, all I need is the land master." Fox peered out from his cover. All the enemies he had killed seemed to have re-spawned. '_Damn it, is there no end to these things?"_

"Here's your land master." Peppy returned to a status display on his screen, which still showed everyone as green.

Fox watched the tank appear a few yards away from him, completely surrounded by enemies. "Great… Good to see the transmission beam is as stellar as ever." He shook his head and ran towards his ride. He took out a few more aparoids before finally jumping into the tank.

"Yeah! Show those things what it can do!" Falco cheered. "Hey hotshot what are you up to now?"

"Eighty-five, a lot of them are flying in from the atmosphere; I don't think I can get them all." Tyronos shot down another group of foes. "Get ready for more down there!"

"And here I thought you wouldn't let a single ship get past you." Falco taunted. Tyronos looked at his display; it showed everyone at green, before a warning appeared under Krystal's ship.

"Krystal you got enemies on your tail and Falco, I may be a cocky son of a bitch but I know when I'm out numbered. I'm coming down to assist." Tyronos pointed the nose of his Arwing down and boosted towards the ground, Barrel rolling to deflect a few attacks as he pulled out of his dive just above Falco's arwing. He quickly barrel rolled again the tips of his wings grazing Falco's, before he boosted off after another group of enemies.

"How the fuck?" Falco whispered before locating Krystal on his radar.

Krystal, being in mild shock of Tyronos's aerial display forgot about the aparoids trailing her. One shot to her ship grabbed her attention however. She boosted away from her pursuers, attempting to lose them with speed. The ships managed to keep up with her however, and continued their barrage on her shields. "I can't lose them! Unbelievable!" She did a barrel roll and deflected a few shots.

Fox aimed his cannon up to the sky and locked onto the ships following Krystal. Once his laser was fully charged his let it go, the red beam bursting through both ships.

"Thanks Fox, I thought I was done for." Krystal sighed in relief and chased down more ships.

"Watch out below!" Slippy cried as he launched a nova bomb at a group of enemies on the ground. The last two bigger aparoids disappeared into a cloud of dust and debris.

"Thanks for the assist Slip!" Fox jumped out of the land master for a second, seeing a temporary break in conflict. He looked up to the sky to watch the battle up there. He noticed a small black object falling towards the ground. He quickly re-entered the land master. "What are these things?" A picture of the new aparoid appeared on his screen.

"This is not good, our scan show that these things can spawn more aparoids!" Peppy reported.

"Destroy 'em before they get the chance or you'll get over run!" Tyronos yelled, shooting the growing trail of enemies behind Slippy.

"Check the map to see where they landed Fox!" Krystal said as she shot on of the new aparoids that had landed on top of the tower. Fox quickly went to work on the aparoids, the land master making it way to easy. He killed so many of them he lost track, but there still seemed to be more aparoids than ever. "Don't forget to check inside buildings too Fox."

"How in the fuck would they get into buildings?" Tyronos thought about it but came up empty handed.

"It doesn't matter how, just check to be sure." Slippy said as he took out more ground enemies. Fox jumped out of the land master and ran to the elevator. He took out the H. Launcher he had picked up from the first big blue aparoid and used it to clear the building completely of enemies.

"Only one more left, get to it Fox." Peppy announced. Fox grumbled something about not being the only one on the team capable but made his way back to the surface.

"Oh fuck we got company!" Tyronos said as a large pinkish shield appeared above the outpost.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Fox watched a gigantic aparoid appear. It looked like an armored UFO with four legs.

"YEEOW, That thing is huge!" Slippy yelled before beginning his shield analysis.

"So this is the leader huh?" Fox stared at the new enemy.

"That thing is giant and ugly." Falco flew past the aparoid, ensuring the skies were clear.

"Wait, that thing has a core memory!" Krystal slowed her arwing to a hover and waited for Fox to engage the enemy.

"You heard the lady, Fox you have to get that core memory!" Peppy looked for weaknesses on the aparoid.

"It's too heavy armored on top. You gotta hit it underneath, there must be a weak point there!" Tyronos flew around before hovering over the land master. "If we can get the top open again we can help you kill it."

"Got it." Fox drove the tank under the aparoid. '_That moth had a purple orb in its mouth and that was its weak point… This one must have the same weakness.'_ Fox looked up and saw what he was looking for. "I see it!" He quickly aimed for the orb and shot it a few times.

"Keep hitting it Fox, It's getting weaker!" Slippy watched the shields drop as he waited for the chance to strike. Fox hit the orb another time before the huge aparoid was brought to the ground.

"Now Fox, hover on top of it! We'll assist you!" Krystal yelled as she charged her laser, the other following her lead.

As soon as the armor layer lifted up the aparoid stood back up as well. The arwing released their charged blast at the orb, greatly damaging the creature. An electric current seemed to glow underneath Fox's land master, destroying it before he could hover. Fox charged his blaster once he regained his footing. "Take this you son of a bitch." He shot the blast, it hit the orb which shattered on impact. The aparoid let out a harsh screech before it slowly died.

"Get off that thing Fox!" Tyronos said as he flew in low enough for Fox to jump on his wing. Fox jumped on, looking back on his latest kill. Tyronos landed a safe distance away and let Fox jump off before heading back into the skies.

"Fox get that core memory!" Peppy watched the dust settle after the creature died. '_That seemed way too easy to be the leader of the aparoids._'

Fox saw the floating memory on top of the aparoid. "That must be it."

"Careful…" Peppy warned. "We have no idea what we're up against."

"I know that." Fox looked around; the slow beeping distress signal had stopped. "That signal is no longer transmitting…"

"Oh that's just fucking great." Tyronos growled.

A new ship appeared from inside one of the buildings in the outpost. This one was yellow and looked like a one manned shuttle with 3 big engines on the back. "Thanks for helping me out!" The pilot said. Fox looked around for the source of that voice, finally seeing him in the sky above the body of the aparoid.

"Pigma?!" Fox shouted.

Pigma laughed as he floated above. "Long time no see eh, Fox?" Pigma's ship shot out a beam to the memory core. "While I'm here I'm going to help myself to this!" The core lifted up into a cargo bay on the underside of Pigma's ship.

"No! That's…" Fox watched as the memory disappeared, cursing his luck.

"Is is that important? THEN I'M GONNA BE RICH!" Pigma laughed harder before boosting away, his ship leaving a smog trail in its departure.

"STOP! PIGMA!" Fox yelled as the ship disappeared from view. "Shit!"

"Fox, I'm tracking Pigma on radar, get back to the Great fox now!" Peppy ordered. Fox ran back to his arwing and set off to the Cruiser.

* * *

**Great Fox Bridge – 5 minutes later**

"Where is he?" Fox yelled as he charged into the bridge. Peppy looked up at him, motioning towards the map that was displayed on the hologram.

"Headed northeast, hasn't stopped but Rob will inform us once he does." Peppy looked back to the map.

"Alright, Rob follow Pigma at a safe distance. I want him to think he's lost us. Put everyone on high alert. I want everyone ready to go at a moment's notice." Fox turned and left the bridge. '_Looks like Tyronos isn't the worst of our problems anymore.'

* * *

_

**Alrighty that's done**. As always review and whatnot. Tell me how you think I'm doing.

Peace,

H-T


	4. Chapter 4

This first little bit is Tyronos talking to the same person he was in chapter 1, just so you don't get confused. Sorry for the slack in updating, I got a lots of hits but no reviews thus far, not that it'll stop me I just love feedback

**Queue story start

* * *

**

I know what you're thinking, so far everything I've said is on record. We went to the outpost and saved Pigma, only to get swindled. I was all for chasing him down, that wasn't my first time dealing with Pigma.

How do I know Pigma? Another time, I still have to get you up to speed.

General Pepper contacted us before we made it to Sargasso Space Hideout, Told us that he had a message for me, and wouldn't say who it was from, only told me that it had only recently been declassified.

I wondered then who it was from, it wasn't likely anything good… Not with what I had be into those days. Someone else wanted me dead, I couldn't care, as long as I was with Star Fox no one had the balls to come after me.

It was here I began forcing myself to get along with the rest of the crew. I didn't have much people skills and I'd be damned to learn more. I tried warming up to them, Slippy and I shared a common love to tinker, and I knew he had to be itching to ask me about my upgrades.

So I figured, hey we got an hour or two before we reach Sargasso, why not see if he could help me fix my ship up?

* * *

**Great Fox II Hanger**

The first thing he got used to down in the hanger was the silence. Tyronos was lying underneath his craft fixing a few spots that had been damaged in his last battle. It was nothing to extensive, but enough to cause harm if he didn't patch it up.

"If I replace this panel, yes… then if I take. Fuck that won't work either, then I'll have to cut another piece so that the nova can still tri burst, and then I'll have to recalibrate the shields so they give that added boost. Awful lot just because of one lucky shot… I may have to just leave it…" Tyronos sighed and looked around, quickly grabbing some tools. "You're terrible at hiding Slippy."

Slippy's head appeared underneath the vessel. "How can everyone on this ship hear me before I get to them?" Tyronos chuckled, he had heard a few reasons why, but kept them to himself. "I guess I'll never be good at stealth."

"Slippy, I mean this in the nicest way, but stealth requires more than just being light on your toes. I could hear you breathing since you came down the hallway, not to mention your hat moves slightly on your head when you walk." Tyronos tossed down the tools in anger. "Never going to be able to finish this by myself."

"What seems to be the problem?" Slippy's mechanical curiosity had gotten the better of him, and a chance to work on something new with someone who obviously knew their stuff was a opportunity he wasn't going to pass up.

"Well..." Tyronos started, figuring Slippy would have asked a lot earlier to assist him on repairs. "This isn't like the arwings you're used to."

"Please, if it has an engine, wires, or parts I can fix it." Slippy got on his back and looked at the damage. "Well, that isn't a huge amount of damage."

"No shit. But if I replace that panel, like I have to, I'm going to have to adjust the angle on the N3. That can take hours upon hours to fix. Then I have to fix the shields. We don't have all that long before we get to where ever we are going."

Slippy stretched his arms. "We better get started then huh?" Tyronos flashed him a smile.

"I'm not stopping for you to take notes, just so you know." He began unbolting the panel.

"Who said I needed paper?" Slippy tapped his head. "I've been taking notes since I got under here.

"Touche." Tyronos grabbed for a tool, only to have it handed to him. "And here I thought Krystal was the one with Telepathy."

* * *

**Great Fox Bridge **– 1 hour later

Fox entered the bridge, the message that General Pepper had finally finished its transfer. "Peppy, open it up."

Peppy shook his head. "I've already tried its password encrypted. The message was for Tyronos, maybe we should just leave it to him."

"I don't think we can trust him." Fox folded his arms looking at the screen. "Has Pigma stopped yet?"

Rob brought a map onto the screen. "Pigma's ship has stopped at Sagasso Space Hideout. We are fourty-five minutes away from our destination."

"Alright, get everyone to the bridge." Fox turned and walked towards the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Peppy asked looking up from his book.

"I'm going to get Tyronos myself, tell him the message came through." Fox disappeared behind the door, descending to the hanger.

"Not like Fox to be untrusting." Rob said blankly.

"Not like you to question your owner." Peppy shot back before returning to his book. '_Once this war is over, remove personality chip from ROB.'

* * *

_

**Great Fox Hanger**

Fox heard voices as he neared the arwings, one of them he knew was Slippy, the other one was newer but just as recognizable. '_Seems Slippy can trust him. Maybe he can upgrade our arwings like he has.'_

Tyronos hit a few keys by the controls."Slippy is the shield up?"

"Up and running!" Slippy called back, surprised at the work they had accomplished in such a small amount of time.

"Alright tell me if the left wing get brighter." Tyronos diverted power to his left wing, making it glow a bright green. "You know maybe I can do that myself a bit later."

"Why?" Slippy was so engrossed in the new ship that he never noticed Fox walking up behind him.

"Wouldn't want you to get scared." Slippy turned around and saw Fox right in front of him, dropping his tools in surprise. Tyronos laughed at Slippy's misfortune and powered down his arwing.

Fox couldn't help but laugh as well; he helped Slippy get his tools before finally speaking. "I need both of you at the Bridge, Pigma stopped moving at Sargasso."

"Pigma…" Tyronos knew that rotten scum all too well. "Me and him have unfinished business."

Fox noticed the fire in his eyes. "Sounds like we have a common enemy, for once it isn't each other."

"I never said you guys were my enemies." Tyronos snapped. "But yes, you're right."

Slippy wanted to ask how Tyronos knew about Pigma, but decided now wouldn't be the best time. He looked over the custom Arwing once more before racing to catch up to the others. "Hey Tyronos, what's up with your emblem? I've never seen one like that before."

Tyronos thought about it. "You want the long or short story?"

"The short one should be good enough, for now." Fox answered for the toad, not really wanting a history lesson.

"Well the letters are for my call sign and name, 'Hopeless Tyronos', the lightning, well… I've always had an unknown love for electricity. Maybe that's a reason I wanted to be a technician for the Cornerian Army when I was in the academy. And lightning represents electricity in one of its wildest forms. It was just a design a friend did for me, before she…" Tyronos stopped himself, not wanting to relive that pain.

Fox noticed the sorrow on Tyronos's face, and for a brief moment, pitied him. He realized then that even if Tyronos had done those things, he still had a heart, and it was still bleeding from an old wound. "We don't expect you to refresh your past just so we can trust you."

"I didn't expect you to tell me any different." Tyronos felt himself beginning to respect Fox. '_Too bad the people I get close to tend to die.'

* * *

_

**Great Fox Bridge**

"I've seen him before." Falco rubbed his chin, trying to seek out that elusive memory.

"Of course you have," Krystal giggled. "He's been on the ship for a few hours." Falco shot her a 'oh you're so funny' look.

"No I meant I've seen him outside of the Great Fox, before the Apariods showed up."

The opening of the bridge door interrupted Falco's thoughts, he figured he'd remember sooner or later, and looked over at the group.

"Alright Peppy, let's get this started." Fox brought up the map as Peppy began the briefing.

Peppy overlooked the map one more time, shaking his head in annoyance. "Why'd he have to run to such a vile place?"

'Sargasso?' Tyronos thought, He'd been there before, illegally of course.

"This is supposed to be a hideout for all sorts of criminals." Slippy was obviously nervous. The rest of the team, however, looked forward to the upcoming battle.

"Funny how they haven't hailed us yet. Ruffians always try to intimidate everyone who comes into their territory." As soon as Falco had said it, an image of a monkey appeared.

"Don't you idiots know? This is part of Lord O'Donnell's territory." The monkey yelled.

"Typical grunt." Tyronos mumbled, clearly unimpressed with this monkey's scare tactics. "Must have sucked someone off to get in, huh?" Falco laughed at the comment.

"This is the Star Fox team, we're here for a hog named Pigma, we don't want any trouble." Fox professional tone was wasted on the monkey's simple mind.

"Not the smartest move, Fox. Did you even hear who he said this place belongs to?" Tyronos shook his head, Fox had good intentions by revealing their identity, but he clearly wasn't used to dealing with thugs.

"We don't know about Pigma or any other fool! But now that we know you're Star Fox you ain't going anywhere! Come on, get more guys up here!" The monkey grinned at Fox. "Let's skin this Fox and his whole crew!" With that the transmission ended, leaving the team minutes to get ready.

Fox brought up the station on the hologram. "Even if we blast them, this will become a war of attrition. Gotta do something about those transfer gateways." Tyronos already had a plan, even if they didn't need him.

"Drop ships have begun warping into the combat zone." Rob said from his seat.

"Alright, Slippy and I will fly in, and secure the base. Falco and Krystal, space is yours." Fox turned to Tyronos. "I want you to stay back and guard the Great Fox; we don't know how many they got coming."

Tyronos nodded. "If there is a chance for me to get into the hideout I'm taking it. I lost something there; I aim to get it back." The 5 pilots left the bridge and dashed towards their ships.

"What exactly did you lose Ty?" Slippy asked as the communications line went green. Tyronos sighed and looked out of his canopy.

"It's kind of stupid, now that I think about it." He laughed to himself.

"Stupid enough for you to go searching for it?" Krystal said as the lift lock released her vessel.

"Yeah." Tyronos fell into a memory, leaving his mental defenses open. Krystal didn't hesitate to jump into his thoughts. '_Dog tags, the ones she gave me … Pigma stole them, once I returned. This is the last known place they were seen.'_

Krystal felt the love Tyronos projected towards the women. "I'm sorry for your loss." Tyronos looked over at Krystal's arwing.

"Thanks." He re-established his mental defense, kicking Krystal out of his mind.

'_He's looking for dog tags that belong to his deceased girlfriend. Maybe you should switch up assignments with him and Slippy, help give him closure.'_ Fox heard Krystal speak to his mind.

Fox thought about it. Tyronos likely wasn't as nervous as Slippy when it came to close quarter combat, and if those tags were in Sargasso, he'd likely tear the place apart looking for it. '_Sounds like a good idea.'_ "Slippy, change of plans, you're gonna stay back and cover the Great Fox, Ty, me and you will go in there and destroy those transfer gateways."

Tyronos laughed. "Never thought that old nickname would stick, Alright Fox, we'll do everything short of blowing that place up." An evil grin spread across his face, he knew the layout of this base like the back of his hand. "Just try and keep up." The four ships boosted towards Sargasso, there next mission was about to begin.

* * *

"Star Fox has deployed five ships! Four are only minutes out! We've got to call for back up!"

"You idiot, I did call for back up!"

"No I mean like 'call the boss', type of back up! We're no match for battle hardened mercenaries!"

"Use guerilla tactics; make sure not a single transfer device is destroyed! I'll call the boss… Wait did you say FIVE fighters?!" immediately the monkey stopped what he was doing and contacted the boss.

Wolf wasn't too pleased at being rudely awoken. "Speak." He grumbled, taking a drink of coffee from his mug. "Quickly now."

"Sir, apologies for the sudden call, but Star Fox is at the Hideout!" Wolf spit the coffee out before quickly recomposing himself.

"WHAT?" He yelled. "Defend the hideout you idiots! We'll be there soon." He cut the link and switched to the Wolfen communications line. "Panther, Leon, Looks like we've got something fun to do."

"Finally, a chance to meet the famous Star Fox team." Panther grinned. Wolf sighed and put his face to his palm.

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you? You've already met most the Star Fox team. Leon, give me the battle statistics." Leon's face changed to the map around Sargasso.

"Looks like they've just arrived, two of them are in space, two are in the base." Leon noticed a fifth ships flying in and out of radar range. "And one… sticking to the Great Fox I'll bet."

"Five ships?" Wolf smirked. "Looks like they have a new member."

"Three on five isn't in our favor." Panther said matter of factly.

Wolf didn't respond, he simply set a course to Saragasso and took off towards it, Leon and Panther not too far behind him.

* * *

**Sargasso Space Hideout**

"This is Fox, I've made it inside." Fox drew out his blaster. "How are things on your end Ty?"

Tyronos jumped out of his ship, hitting the ground gracefully before rolling into cover. "I'm in, here comes the fireworks."

Falco and Krystal flew around the outside of the base. Fighters had yet to be deployed. "Looks way to calm out here." A few transport ships came out of warp, slowing down to a stop just out of fire range of the Great Fox.

"Falco look." Krystal watched the ships come to a stop, fighters emerging from the sides.

Falco smiled, now it was his turn to shine. "And here we go!" They flew off towards the ships, changing direction as the fighters began attempting to shoot them down.

Slippy watched from afar, not overly concerned with being 'left out' of the fight, it gave him time to relax. He closed his eyes, drawing up a blue print of Tyronos's N3, trying to determine the most cost effective way to upgrade their arwings. His radar pinging began to annoy him, so he turned the volume on it off, just as a ship came into view.

"Fox, you take the right side I'll take the left, meet me on the by the elevator on the highest floor." Tyronos picked up a machine gun off one of the fallen soldiers, creating a path through to a transfer device. He planted a motion sensor bomb on it. '_Next guy out is in for a surprise.'_ He ran to the closest ramp, hiding behind it. An explosion and a cry of agony could be heard. "Transfer device down."

On the other side of the hideout Fox was having similar luck; he'd already brought down 2 transfer devices, and had his sights on a third. He ran up a ramp; however he wasn't expecting a barrel to be thrown at him. Fox quickly retreated back down the ramp and jumping to a side as to not get blown up by the barrel. "Ty, watch out on your way up the ramps, Barrels are bad."

"Just jump them, for some crazy reason the gravity isn't as intense in here, you can jump pretty damn high." Tyronos said as he cleared a barrel and shot the device producing them. He looked to his left, noticing a sniper rifle floating next to a support beam. '_Convenient.' _ He quickly zoomed in on his target, blasting it away. Tyronos then noticed something, a ship flew past the window farthest from him, the ship clearly wasn't an arwing, it looked more like Pigma's ship but this one was green instead of yellow. Fear hit him like a bag of bricks. '_He followed me home.'_

Fox destroyed the last transfer device on the lower levels. '_Too easy, now I gotta get to the elevator.'_ He jumped over another barrel, blasting a few stragglers on his way.

"Looks like the other gateways are in a higher location." Slippy said as he checked the map. "There should be an elevator around there."

"Old news Slip, but thanks." Fox ran through the last hallway, briefly looking outside to see the space battle. "Falco, Krystal. How are things out there?"

Falco somersaulted and destroyed a ship that had been following him. "As good as they could be, these guys are no match for us, but they got a lot of reinforcements."

"A gauge meter is on your Wrist com, Fox. It'll tell you how the space battle is going." Peppy noticed Tyronos hadn't moved in some time. "Tyronos get to the elevator."

"On it." Tyronos replied forcing more memories out of his mind and headed for the elevator. He jumped onto it, hoping it would go up automatically, however luck still wasn't on his side. "You son of a…" Tyronos ripped off the electric panel and began cutting wires, thanking himself for always having his knife on him. He began rewiring the elevator. "Green to blue, Blue to Red, Red to Yellow, Yellow to green." The lift shot up suddenly throwing Tyronos to the floor. It stopped just as Fox had press the call button, and he walked on.

"Wow, such speedy service." Fox reloaded his machine gun, grinning at Tyronos. "Maybe I should get you to be a butler for us."

"I'd sit down if I were you, master." Tyronos reconnected the wires after a bow. Fox fell to the floor, fighting against the G's to sit up. "Watch your head; this might not stop too pleasantly." The elevator lurched to a stop, sending the two Foxes flying in the air a few feet, both of them landing smartly on their feet.

"You want the fun way or the really fun way?" Fox asked. Tyronos matched his grin. They both ran forward, Tyronos taking out the bigger enemies with his sniper rifle, and Fox mowing down the grunts with his machine gun.

* * *

The green ship docked in the hideout, the pilot jumped out of his craft. There was indeed a fight here, he thought. He walked up to Fox's Arwing and placed a purple orb on the engines. "Let's see you save this one Ty." He laughed as he brought his hands up to his head. _'A little juice to get it going.'_ The purple orb began to glow and expand, fully engulfing the engines. '_Come Tyronos, save your friend's ship!'

* * *

_

Tyronos grabbed his head, falling to one knee. "Fox!"

Fox turned around, seeing Tyronos down, he tossed a grenade at the last gateway, destroying it. "Transfer device down! That should be all of them. What's wrong Ty?"

"He's here. He's here." Tyronos shook his head in disbelief. "Son of a bitch, followed me." He slowly stood back up. "We need to leave this place… NOW!" Tyronos took off towards the elevator, Fox in tow.

"How exactly do you plan on getting us back down? That thing still work?" Tyronos glared at him.

"We haven't been up here even five minutes, Besides Up is the hard part." He waited for Fox to get on before switching some wires around. "Going down is much more fun."

"You've got another ship incoming! Take them down." Peppy yelled as yet another new red ship showed up on radar. "This one wasn't as friendly as the last one!"

"Kinda got my hands full here!"Falco yelled chasing down a group of ships. "Krystal can you take care of it?"

"I've got too many; I can't get close enough to get a clear shot at the main ships!"Krystal launched her last nova bomb at the large group of defending fighters, destroying most of them. With her lasers charged she finally got a lock on the main ship. '_Let's hope this works.'_ She fired at the ship, the laser blasting its way past the defenses, and into its core, destroying the vessel and some surrounding enemies. "Enemy ship down! But we're still going to need help!"

"Hold on Krystal, Ty and I are done in here, we'll be out shortly." Fox ran toward's his arwing.

"Fox, Wait!" Tyronos yelled. Fox stopped in his tracks.

"What the…" Fox couldn't find the words to describe what he saw. His entire arwing was in a glowing purple bubble, with electricity jumping off of it. Tyronos narrowed his eyes, and walked up to Fox.

"Take my arwing. I've got to see where this goes." Tyronos felt Fox grab his arm; he looked back at him with a grin. "Relax, the worst that could happen is I could-" He was cut off as the bubble expanded and dragged him in, then disappeared without a trace, Tyronos, the bubble, and Fox's arwing vanished. Fox stood there dumbfounded.

"I need a vacation." He whispered. He stood there, trying to force himself to believe what he just saw. His wrist com yelled at him, but he barely heard it. '_You're on a mission… Don't let the team down!'_ He snapped back into reality, and raced to Tyronos's arwing and jumped in. '_I'll get Peppy to check on it later, he can handle himself.'_

"Identify." The ship said flatly, causing Fox to jump.

"Fox McClud." He responded in an unsure tone.

"Searching… Confirmed, Fox McCloud, Captain of the Star Fox team. Age, thirty. Sex, Male. Species, Vulpine. Current Bounty… None on record. Last seen in… Sargasso. Proceed to last known location?" Fox stared at the panel, slightly scared. "Override code accepted. Manual Driving engaged." Fox uttered a thank you in his strange bit of luck. He turned the ship around and flew out of the hanger.

"This is Fox, engaging the hostiles." He shot down some fighters, boosting towards the ships quicker than he was used to. His boost ended and he charged his laser, letting loose a few charged volleys at the drones. "Coming in hot Krystal, get ready to blow that shit up!"

"Roger!" Krystal charged her lasers, scanning the group of fighters before Fox flew by. Fox shoot a few times, causing the fighters to break formation, Krystal took her chance and shot at the ship, with explosive results.

"Nice shot Krystal! Falco you need any help?" Fox boosted towards the avian, showing up beside him before he could respond.

"As you can see, I've taken care of things." Falco looked down at his empty radar with disappointment. "You've scared all the fish." Fox grinned at his friend.

"This mission is a success then huh?"Slippy yawned, rubbing his eyes lazily.

"Mother Fu- Slippy did you seriously fall asleep?" Falco yelled, holding his head in his palm.

"So, did we get Pigma? Did Ty find his thing?" Slippy watched Fox's head bow slightly.

"Tyronos… Man I can't even explain what happened to him, some weird purple thing was over my arwing, he went to fix it I think, do something to get that stuff off, then suddenly it expands and disappears, taking him and my arwing with it." Fox sighed. " Stupid kid."

"We've got no new info on Pigma and now Tyronos is MIA?" Peppy folded his arms and lend back in his seat.

"New ships approaching at a high rate of speed!" Rob shouted. "Ships identified as-"

Fox looked down at the radar. "Wolfen." He thought out loud. "Just what I needed." He watched the wolfen come into view and stop near the hideout. "We don't want trouble Wolf."

"Don't want it? Then why'd you take out my fleet huh?" Wolf snarled and chased after Fox. Leon flew after Falco, will Panther focused on the last ship.

Fox boosted away from Wolf, not really wanting to battle his rival in his current state.

"What's the matter Bird? To scared to fight someone with talent?" Leon taunted Falco, know very well how to get him going.

"What was that lizard? A pilot with talent? Where?" Falco did a loop to get behind Leon, hitting him a few times before the lizard that took a hard left trying to get out of his line of sight.

"Please, don't make this harder on yourself." Panther purred locking onto Krystal's arwing, his finger just above the firing button. "I know all about flying. There isn't a move you can make than I can't… err where did you go?" He looked around; she had lost his lock so fast the computer hadn't been able to register it.

"Right behind you." Panther felt the charged shot slam into the back of his ship. Clearly forgetting Krystal flew with Star Fox.

"No point it running from destiny Fox. This is the day Star Wolf takes you down!" Wolf shot a few rounds at Fox who barrel rolled to deflect them.

"Yeah, you said that last time too. Or something like that I wasn't really listening." Fox gave up on the 'bad guy coming to see the light and give up' routine. '_Let's see what this baby can do.'_ He pushed the controls fully forward, boosting away from Wolf at an incredible speed. He turned around and began charging at Wolf, readying the nova bombs. "Falco, Krystal. Time for that new battle formation." Falco and Krystal both broke off their attacks, allowing their targets to get behind them.

"Is this even gonna work? This was designed for amateur fliers not trained enemies!" Falco whined, heading to the new dot on his radar.

"It'll work." Fox shot the tri-burst nova bomb, clearing out some debris floating in his way. '_I got to get me one of these.'_ He chuckled at the power of the nova launcher; anything that was unfortunate to get hit by one nova bomb wasn't likely to live to talk about it. Three at once seemed like overkill, delicious overkill. "Slippy get over here! Get ready for your part."

The three members of Star Wolf were too busy trying to get their shot to notice how close they were getting to each other. Wolf finally got a lock on Fox and smiled. "This is the day Star Wolf is victorious."

Fox, Krystal, and Falco all pulled up, leaving the three ships dangerously close together. "Slippy now!"

Panther looked out of his canopy to see the fourth arwing boosting towards them. His eyes widened as the little red bomb got closer and closer. "We've got to get out of here!"

"What?!" Leon pushed down to move but was blocked by the other two ships. "ME?! ME!!!?"

"I can't believe it… Beaten by a toad." Wolf sighed. "Shields to max!" The three ships were engulfed in the explosion.

"Analysis complete Fox, They've got enough power to boost but their weapon systems are ruined. Looks like I got a lucky shot." Slippy flew up to the other arwings.

"Looks like you aren't as useless as I thought." Falco joked, giving Slippy thumbs up. "On to business, eh Fox?"

Fox nodded, leading them down to the Wolfen. "Just hand over Pigma already."

"Pigma is no longer a member of Star Wolf." Wolf huffed. "And if he'd shown his filthy hid here my men would have driven him out."

"Tracking devices aren't as good anymore are they?" Leon strummed his hands on his panel.

"What was that?" Falco charged his laser, locking onto the Lizard's broken ship.

Krystal sighed. "Look forget about him, just tell us where Pigma is."

Panther whistled. "The lovely Krystal, words do you no justice."

"Step off Panther." Fox growled. "If she didn't want you then, she doesn't want you now."

Panther chuckled. "We'll see. The com record will point you to Fichina."

"You talk too much, Panther, Leon. Let's go." Wolf led his team into space, to hide and repair their ships.

"Ok, now this mission is complete. Let's get back to the Great Fox." Fox boosted towards his home, ready for a nap.

* * *

**Great Fox Brigde**

Peppy relaxed in his chair, happy that his team had come back unharmed, for the most part. Tyronos technically wasn't a part of their team, but he still felt sorry for the loss. He got up and left the bridge, walking slowly to the kitchen, putting on a pot of coffee. He heard heavy footsteps coming towards him. Knowing Fox and the others hadn't landed yet he grabbed his sidearm and silently moved back to the kitchen door. "Rob if that's you the joke is over." His response was a groan of pain. Peppy moved into the hallway quickly, aiming his gun at the head of the intruder, gasping as he recognized him. "How in the fuck?"

"The team has landed, 5 ships accounted for." Rob blared over the PA system.

"Five?" Fox looked at the hanger, sure enough his arwing secured in its lift lock. "How the hell did he survive?"

"Team, get to the bridge immediately!" Peppy seemed concerned with something but didn't elaborate on it more. Fox landed Tyronos's ship and raced towards the elevator behind his teammates.

"Do you think Tyronos survived and came back?" Krystal asked. She got a couple shrugs in response. Fox remained silent, not bothering to look at anyone. "Fox?"

"I dunno, maybe." Fox felt Krystal grab his hand tightly; he squeezed it back before pulling her into a hug. "If he did, it'd be a great story."

Peppy supported Tyronos as they walked into the bridge, the elevator opening as they got there. Tyronos managed a weak grin at the team, wincing in pain. "Now that everyone's here… I bet you're wondering what happened."

"You might say that." Fox took over for Peppy and guided Tyronos to his chair. "What was that thing?" The rest of the pilots formed a semi circle in front of him.

"Sit down, this could take a while, Might as well get us hot on Pigma's trail again." Everyone remained standing, Peppy assigned a course to Fichina before returning to the group. "Ok. Now this isn't going to make a whole lot of sense when you first hear it. If you could save your questions till after I'm done it would make this one hell of a lot easier for me." Tyronos scanned his teammates, looking for understanding. "What you saw Fox, is what I call an IPTT. An Inter-planetary Time Tear. It's pretty much a warp gate, except you get sent to a completely different spot in the universe. If that wasn't enough you are also sent either into the past or future. For example, I could enter one now and be sent to the year 4000 in a galaxy that borders Lylat. Or I could be sent to the year 1800 in a galaxy light years away from galactic central point. Normally you get sent to another planet that supports live, sometimes you get sent to a barren wasteland. Once you get powerful enough you can control where you go."

Everyone stared blankly, letting the information sink in. Fox folded his arms. "So, the one I saw you get absorbed by. Where did that take you?"

Tyronos shivered. "It took me to Corneria in the year 4501. That wasn't a future I would want, nor will I tell you what happened there."

Fox nodded at him. "Fair enough, so how did you get back?"

Tyronos thought about it. "You always get back the way that you came, by that big glowing purple bubble."

"How powerful would you have to be to control it?" Krystal said. "Can you control one?"

"Can I control one? Not entirely, somehow I can get back to the present regardless of where I go. Luck I guess, but being sent there is a different story." Tyronos seemed impressed by their questions so far, deciding to himself that they had accepted this quicker than anyone else he had told. "To completely control one… You'd have to able to control time itself."

"So let's say one of us get caught in one of these, how could we get back?" Falco, despite himself was actually very interested in this topic.

"There is always something for you to do, something simple like walking someone across a street, even something like evacuating a burning building. It's random, but the time you do it is key. Midnight, the start of a new day, forced memories fade away, leaving the one true path, take it to avoid time's wrath." Tyronos's eyes glowed slightly as he spoke, quickly fading back into their natural color.

"So, as long as you get whatever it is you have to do done at midnight, you can go home." Falco closed his eyes, reliving a memory that he wanted to change.

"In theory, but it could take days, months, even years to figure out what you have to do. The strangest thing for me is, that once I complete what I had to do I get sent back to the exact time and place I left from, somehow I can control time's reverse or fast forward enough to make it look like I disappeared and reappeared, with only five minutes elapsed for everyone else." Tyronos rubbed his head. "Anything else?"

"Go get some rest, I think we've all earned a few hours." Fox dismissed the team to their quarters, Peppy helping Tyronos to his.

As they walked Peppy pointed out some of the rooms to him, giving him a quick tour of the top level of the Great Fox. After five minutes they came to the guest room. Peppy opened the door, and motioned him in.

"Thanks Peppy, don't think I could have made it her without your help." Tyronos turned to collapse on his bed, but felt Peppy's hand on his shoulder.

"No problem." Peppy handed him a small brown envelope, Tyronos took it and looked at it, then to Peppy. "Someone came on board and asked me to give this to you, didn't even appear on our radar until he docked."

"Thanks, See ya later." Peppy nodded and left Tyronos standing in the middle of the room. He sat down on the bed, slowly opening the envelope. A small piece of paper and something wrapped in cloth was all that was in it. Tyronos unwrapped the cloth, two small pieces of metal attached by a chain fell into his lap. "My god, her tags…" He quickly put on the dog chain, feeling more at peace then he'd been for a while. The paper slipped off the bed and onto the floor, quickly retrieving it Tyronos opened it up as well.

'_By the end of this war. We will meet again, and this time you will die. Think of it as my way of reuniting you two, such a long time since I last saw you and her together. It really is too bad you let her die.'_

Tyronos dropped the note as if it bit him. He knew exactly who sent this; this war was merely a diversion of the real fight he would have to face. Tyronos kissed the dog tags and set his head on the pillow, fast asleep before his mind could trigger his nightmares.

* * *

**Omg**! This is getting interesting! (I think it is anyway.) Hope you enjoyed it, sorry about the lack of action. I tried putting more in but it felt like it was lagging the story on, and on.

But anywhosel I'm out,

Peace

H-T


	5. Chapter 5

Who was that guy I was so worried about? We're nowhere near secured enough to begin discussing him. If you stop interrupting me and listen, you'll get all the info you need. Then maybe you can be brave enough to talk to me without your blaster trained on my head… Could you at least turn off that fucking laser pointer? Thank you.

Now then, where was I?

Oh yes! I had gotten back the dog tags that Pigma stole from me, and the team was headed for Fichina. Based on Pather's advice, I never really liked Fichina, before they built the climate control center that is. Hell, I still hate it now. My ship is lost to that planet, just like my grandfather had said.

I was growing more dependent on Star Fox, and it didn't help that they started to treat me like a person.

* * *

**Great Fox Living Quarters**

Tyronos opened his eyes; a low beep had been annoying him since he fell into a light sleep. He got off the bed, in search of this ungodly sound. '_So help me, if that is a security thing, I'm going to sleep in my arwing.'_

"Message repeat for: Guest room one, message waiting from Pepper, entitled Lylat Wars, Password encrypted." Tyronos spun around to a drop down screen, watching it blink the message the voice had just read.

"Open." He said the small envelop enlarged and began to open. The screen asked for a password. "Kojic." The screen turned blank before a picture of an older vulpine appeared in front of him, in the full cornerian jumpsuit.

"If you are hearing this, then I am long from this world." Tyronos felt as if he was hit by the voice. "Hello Tyronos."

"Grandpa?" He had forgotten that Pepper was sending him this message. He touched the screen, hoping that somehow he'd touch real fur.

"I want to start off by saying how sorry I am for leaving you. The last of your known family… By now you've discovered something both fantastic and problematic. I shouldn't have to explain to you what I mean by that." Kojic looked off camera and saluted to whoever came in the room. "Sir, I respect you opinion but he deserves to know everything. Leave out what part?" Another salute brought Kojic's attention back to Tyronos. "Don't mind him, he hates paper trails. I'm going to clear a few things up for you Ty, first of all you aren't from the lylat system, surprise, I know. Your home system is now gone, destroyed by our kind's destructive wars. Those I.P.T.T.'s can only be control by us, you should warn the people you are travelling with about this, because only you can pull them back to their time. You are now one of the two survivors who can use this power. Thirdly, when you enter a I.P.T.T. do not get attached to anyone, do not let anyone come into your ship, do not time travel with them. People who do this purposely are considered a rogue of time and are dealt with accordingly."

'_Broke that rule completely.'_ Tyronos watched a slow smile appear on Kojic's face, one of his own matching it. '_It's like he knew.'_

"Finally, as my time is growing short, don't blame Star Fox or Oikonny for my death. Oikonny flew with Star Wolf which has been confirmed defeated by Star Fox not too long ago. I can't foresee the future, but I think Peppy is bound to retire from the arwing soon, maybe you should apply to get in." Kojic laughed. "By the time you hear this that moment is likely to have come and gone. But alas, here nor there, Tyronos take care of yourself. Try not to get too dependent on anyone." The screen once again faded into blackness. Tyronos touched the screen once more.

"I will grandfather." He removed his hand from the screen and went to his door, eager to stretch his legs. He opened his door, surprised to see someone standing in front of him. "How long you been standing out here?"

"Long enough to know what was going on but not enough to understand it." Tyronos looked at Falco questioningly.

"You're the last person I'd expect to give a shit about me on this team." He began to walk away, but Falco kept up.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Falco chuckled. "We're you headed?"

"Hanger, I gotta see what kind of damage Fox did to my ship." Tyronos continued walking to the elevator, noticing Falco still behind him. "Got something else you wanted to say?"

"Well…" Falco started, he wanted to ask outright what gang Tyronos had belonged to, he was so familiar but at the same time he really didn't know anything about him, other than what the media had said he did.

"You want to know something about my past huh? Wouldn't take you this long to say anything." Tyronos stood beside the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. "Go ahead…"

Falco looked up at the fox in front of him. "It's not too often you see a grey furred fox. I think I remember seeing you somewhere before, but for the life of me I can't figure out when."

"Thinking was never a strong point for you was it?" Tyronos laughed. "Yes, you've seen me before, twice actually. The first time was outside of Pepper's office just after the Lylat wars. I assume you don't remember when you guys pushed me out of the way huh?" Falco's silence encouraged him to continue. "But the second time, the one I know you've been trying to remember is after you left Star Fox. You came back to the gang you had before joining with Fox, just to see how it had survived without you leading it. We met there briefly; I was just a member, looking for vengeance. I was a bounty hunter then, your gang served as a front to hide me from public eyes."

"So you used them to cover your ass." Falco didn't seem too pissed about that. "What did you do after that?"

"After that?" Tyronos thought about it for a second, entering the lift as the doors opened. "Once they found out what I did using their name, I was kicked out. I did a few more bounties before I realized it wasn't something I really enjoyed. Everyone I killed I put Oikonny's face too, just to get a little more satisfaction out of the kill."

"Seems you really had it out for Andrew, Glad I ain't him." Falco lend back against the wall.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Tyronos went quiet, Kojic had told him not to blame Oikonny for his death, it wasn't something he knew he'd drop anytime soon, 9 years of searching for someone who you thought killed your only living family wasn't something you just shrugged off. "What about you, why did you rejoin Star Fox?"

Falco didn't like this turn of the tables. "Hey, don't ever question my loyalties to this team!"

"Alright, calm down Ace." Tyronos stepped out of the elevator and headed towards his ship. '_Too bad no future I've seen shows this team together… Not all at once anyway._' Tyronos began inspecting his ship, it had numerous black spots from where it had been hit, nothing too serious. "Falco, could you watch the shields for me." He didn't get an answer, but continued anyway. "OK, it should be up."

"You got nothing." Falco yelled over the engines. "And your nova launcher is stuck out."

"Shit." Tyronos jumped off his ship and ran to the front of it. "That's just fucking perfect."

Falco laughed. "No shields, no Nova launcher… you've got a hell of a ship there Ty."

"It took me years to get the parts to even fly this… Ever battle I've ever been, I needed to repair afterwards. Do you know how hard it is to steal parts for a prototype?" Tyronos punched the bottom of the nearest wing, adding more to his repair list.

"You've fixed it before, why can't you fix it again?" Falco folded his arms, he did have a point.

Tyronos shook his head. "It's not that simple… Half the parts we would need are long since discontinued. I'd need to overhaul this thing, that N3 is just too much for any one arwing to handle, plus the multi-lock sucks up all the excess power, making the shields useless in a real dog fight." With a heavy sigh Tyronos got back into his ship. "It's time to put her down. Could you help me?"

Falco nodded. "I guess it's the least I could do. We have an extra arwing here; I guess you could fly that." With that Falco ran to his arwing, jumped in, and waited for the green. "Com line on, you hear me?"

"Roger. We're pretty close to Fichina, let get closer to there in case something happens." Tyronos eased his ship up to Falco's before boosting out towards the planet, with Falco in tow.

* * *

**Space, outside the Great Fox**

"Looks like someone is out for a midnight flight, how convenient…" The ship tracked the movement. "And he's brought a friend, how nice of him, I do love an audience." He boosted behind Tyronos and Falco as they headed towards Fichina. "I guess you won't make it to the end of this war after all."

"Ty, I got a boogey headed this way, coming fast!" Falco watched the red blip on his radar. "He's blocking his com, we can't reach him."

Tyronos brought up the specs of the craft, instantly recognizing it. "Oh shit…"

"Ty, who is it?" Falco had never heard Tyronos this nervous before.

"Falco, we have to get the fuck out of here, NOW! Evasive action, don't let him get a lock on you!" Tyronos boosted away, Falco close behind him.

'_The thrill of the hunt!_' "Why run away Tyronos? You know it's useless to run. I can follow you no matter where you go."

"Ty, how does he know you?" Falco yelled, his computer screamed at him. '_Who ever this guy is, he's good. I can barely keep him from locking onto me.'_

"He's a custodian of time. He's been after me since I began falling into the I.P.T.T.'s." Tyronos knew his ship was in no condition to fight, much less be flown at such a high speed.

"This is your end Tyronos; you will die as the last of your kind. I, Kojic, will end your reign of terror."

"Kojic?!" Tyronos yelled. "NO, that can't be your name."

Kojic grinned as he got a lock on his target. "But it is… my grandson." He sent a nova bomb at Tyronos, laughing manically as it flew towards its target.

Time slowed down, Tyronos watched the nova bomb getting closer. '_The last person alive in my family…'_ He remembered all the fun times he and Kojic had before his mission. A tear ran down his face. '_Is the one who's been trying to kill me.'_ He had given up, if the one person who took care of him now wanted him dead, who was he to stop it?_ 'Set me free…'_

"TY!" Falco yelled, snapping him out of his thoughts. The bomb hit his hull. "NO!"

The strangest thing happened, or rather, didn't happen.

"A dud?" Tyronos thought out loud. '_I thought they sent all the duds to HAL?'_ Shrugging off his rather good luck, he continued avoiding Kojic's now ruthless volleys. "You never told me to stand down, why the sudden change?"

"I've seen this future; it will only end in further heartache for everyone involved! You are the center of it all, therefore you must die." Kojic charged his lasers, feeding all the energy he could into the impending blast. "Your ships is in no condition to out run this."

"Falco get out of here!" Tyronos yelled as he boosted away from his grandfather.

"You can't hope to beat him by yourself!" Falco shot at Kojic, hitting his wing and ripping a piece of it off with his charged shot.

"So, you want to die first then, Falco." Kojic turned to face Falco's ship. "It's too bad; you had such a nice future ahead of you." Kojic released the blast, grinning at the destruction to come. Falco's eyes widened, the blast was much bigger then he had intended.

'_How could he get so much power out of a one man fighter?'_ Falco watched in shock, his computer warned him of his doom. '_There is no way my shields can handle that.'_ Falco closed his eyes and braced for impact.

"FALCO!" Falco's eyes shot open as an explosion happened in front of him. Everything was silent after the shock wave, Falco blinked a few times before the sound came rushing at him.

Kojic continued laughing as his ship turned around. "Looks like his story is over. Now things can finally be normal again." With that Kojic jumped into hyperspace, leaving Falco alone with his thoughts.

"Ty?" He whispered. "Tyronos?" Still no answer, with a disappointed sigh he turned back to the Great Fox.

"F-Falco… Fichin-nn-na, Hurry!" Falco jumped at Tyronos's voice, looking around until he spotted the destroyed ship. Falco couldn't make himself move, sure he had been in near death experiences, it was almost an everyday thing, but somehow this one was different. He watched Tyronos's ship fall into Fichina's atmosphere.

"His shields are barely going to get him past the atmosphere, I gotta move fast." Falco boosted towards the Great Fox, he knew Tyronos didn't have a lot of time.

* * *

**Great Fox Bridge**

"Fox! Slippy! Krystal! Anyone and everyone get to the bridge!" Falco yelled over the intercom. He sat down in his chair and waited for the others to get there. '_No time, No time… Fuck what is taking everyone so long?!'_ He turned around as he saw the rest of the team burst through the doors.

"Falco what the fuck? It's four in the fucking morning…" Fox walked up to his friend, noticing his lack of a snappy retort. "What's up?"

Falco shook his head, still in denial about what had happened. "Well, I couldn't sleep, like normal, so I was headed to the hanger for a quick flight." Falco watched the team sit down before continuing. "I heard voices coming from the guest room so I waited until Ty came out to see what was up. He was playing that message he got from Pepper, something from his grandfather… Kojic, I think I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway, he came outside and we got to talking about stuff. Once we got to the hanger he got me to help him check out the damage that his ship took during our last fight." Falco stood up pacing back and forth. "He wanted me to help destroy his ship, deeming that it was too much of a hassle to keep repairing fight after fight."

"Where is Ty anyway? Why would he want to destroy his ship?" Slippy yawned, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I'm getting to that. Plus, he said the upgrades he made weren't all that great, that nova launcher was too much for it to handle, and his multi-lock drained too much power." Falco stopped and looked out towards Fichina. "We got into a dog fight with an unknown ship. It turned out to be Kojic… somehow."

"Kojic?" Krystal skimmed Falco's mind, looking for a visual. "Isn't that Tyronos's grandfather? He's dead, isn't he?"

"Apparently not." Peppy said as he entered the bridge.

"I didn't think you'd wake up Pep." Falco chuckled before becoming serious again. "I can't explain what really happened during the fight. Other than Kojic's ships is may to fucking overpowered. He shot down Tyronos, we have to go rescue him."

"He crashed onto Fichina I assume?" Fox folded his arms across his chest. Falco nodded. "Looks like we don't have a lot of time. Alright, everyone grab a coffee and get ready to go."

"Fichina? Brrr. It makes me hibernate." Slippy shivered at the thought of going to such a cold planet.

"I'll check the conditions on the surface, get back here asap!" Peppy ordered as he connected to the planet communications system.

Krystal poured a cup of coffee for her and Fox before sitting beside him. "Do you think Ty will survive long enough for us to find him?"

Fox shrugged before taking a sip. "It depends, Fichina is a dangerous place… let's hope he crashed near the climate control center."

* * *

**Fichina**

Tyronos groaned as the pain hit him. '_At least I'm alive.'_ He thought bitterly, not that he wanted to be. '_That couldn't have been my grandfather… I won't believe it.'_ Tyronos looked out of his canopy, snow was already covering most of it, his heaters had been destroyed in the crash, and his only insulation now, would be the snow that slowly made him and his ship disappear. '_I thought Fichina had a climate control center… Could Pigma have destroyed it?'_ He felt his body protest as he tried to move. It didn't feel like anything had broke, but he could be sure. By now his limbs could have been numbed by the cold. He forced his eyes open to survey the damage to the cockpit. '_So much for getting Falco to take this behind the barn…'_ He attempted to contact the Great Fox, only to receive static as his response. '_Well, here's a good enough place to die as any.'_

'_That doesn't sound like the fox I feel in love with.'_

Tyronos gasped at the voice, he recognized it immediately. '_Zarah… But you're.'_

'_I know… all I can tell you is that this isn't the time or the place for us to finally see each other again. This isn't how you will die.'_ Zarah's voice soothed Tyronos's mind, bringing him into a state of peace.

"But, I may as well be dead. My grandfather is trying to kill me, and he's been after me since your accident." Tyronos closed his eyes again, envisioning his love floating towards him. The female wolf smiled at him, wrapping her arms around him.

'_That Kojic is from another realm. He isn't your true grandfather, the real Kojic has been watching over you with me.'_ Zarah pulled back enough to see his face. '_Listen to me, our time is short. Take your emergency blaster and get out of this ship. You will be rescued, all you have to do is make it to the climate control center… but be warned, the trip won't be easy.'_

"Nothing ever is… takes the fun out of life." Tyronos felt Zarah begin to float away. "I miss you, Gods… do I wish I could bring you back."

'_I'm never far away… Farewell my love.'_ Zarah's ghostly lips embraced his before she faded away completely.

"No, you're always in my heart." Tyronos grabbed his blaster and shot his window out. He pulled himself out of his wrecked craft before grabbing a few things out of it. He turned around trying to get his bearings. "Well, this blizzard isn't going to help things. Radar shows a lot of aparoids northeast of here… I'm guessing if I find them, I find Pigma… and the center." Tyronos looked back once more at his ship. '_Thank you…'_ He walked northeast, fighting the elements every step of the way. "Good thing nothing feels broken."

* * *

**Great Fox Brigde**

"This is a crisis team…" Peppy said as they reassembled back in the bridge. "Looks like the climate control center is, well it's no longer working."

"Well that's just great." Falco threw his hands in the air, growling at their misfortune.

"Looks like the generators have failed..."Peppy looked over at Fox who seemed deep in thought. "If this blizzard keeps up the planet will once again become barren."

"Do you think this is Pigma's work… could he be, laying a trap?" Krystal rubbed her chin. "And what about Ty?"

"Alright, we don't have any time to lose; I'll go down there and get those generators back up. Once the blizzard stops you guys can fly down and help me look for Tyronos."

"Shouldn't Krystal be the first to go down?" Slippy said causing the rest of the team to look at him. "I mean, she is the telepath of the team, couldn't she sense Ty's thoughts?"

"Well, I could, but I'm not all the great with a landmaster." Krystal looked at Fox. "What do you think?"

"I think we're wasting time, Come on lets go already!" Falco snapped.

"Alright, Alright. Krystal you'll be fine, go down there get that generator back up, if you sense Ty before the generator gets fixed pick him up." Krystal smiled at him. "What?"

"It's about time you let someone else play the hero… or in this case heroine." Krystal hugged him before racing to the hanger.

"I'll make sure everyone else is ready to launch at anytime Krystal!" Peppy yelled before she disappeared behind the doors.

Fox sat down in his chair, already regretting not going down first. "Fox relax." Fox turned to face Falco, who was grinning at him. "She's a better pilot then we give her credit for, the landmaster isn't all that different. Don't worry so much, your girlfriend can handle herself."

Fox sighed. "I know, I know… I just worry you know? I worry about the entire team when we do missions." Falco patted him on the shoulder.

"You gotta learn to have more faith in your squad. Let us take some of the risks, you'll burn out if you try to do everything at once." Falco walked to the elevator. "Now let's get ready to assist your lady before she completes this mission without us… or worse, with Slippy!" Fox jumped out of his seat, grinning, he was ready to kick some ass.

"Kids…" Peppy said before returning to his data charts. '_Don't worry Ty, we're coming for you.'_

_

* * *

_

**Fichina**

Krystal jumped out of her arwing, watching it get transported back to the Great Fox. She looked around her. "Fichina isn't as fantastic as they make it out to be." She noticed a building in the distance with green energy floating around it. '_Well that isn't normal.'_ She brought out her binoculars, zooming in on the building. "Rob, scan the center."

"Affirmative, the climate control center is surrounded by a shield." Rob blared over her wrist com.

"Looks like you'll have to take down that shield to get the blizzard under control." Peppy informed her.

"On the bright side once you get that shield down we can come help you!" Slippy said, sitting down on the wing of his ship.

"Landmaster incoming Krystal."

"Thanks Peppy." Krystal said tossing her binoculars to the ground.

"Hurry up, we're just spinning our tires here!" Falco was already in his arwing fingers gripping the controls.

"Be careful Krystal." Fox tried to sound as supportive as he could, but it still ate at him that he let Krystal go solo.

"Be careful what you wish for Falco." Krystal jumped down the bank towards the landmaster. "I will be Fox, just for you."

* * *

**Well** finally!!! this is part 1 of the mission on Fichina... it's a little boring but it's got some plot twists and back story, oh, totally made the Fox/Krys relationship an actual relationship for those who haven't caught on yet(lol) part 2 is gonna have more action /yay.

Oh and I totally think Assault should have let you 'pick your pilot' for missions, that'd be cool.

Anywho, R&R or some bs like that lol

Peace,

H-T


	6. Chapter 6

**OMG**, it's been a while FF! This took me forever and a day to write, hope you enjoy!

* * *

_Yes, Fichina was cold you fucking idiot._

_OW!_

_Yeah, those guns still are harder than my head… thanks for the headache. Anyway, I suppose you want me to continue? Fine, I still don't understand just why you want to know how Krystal and Fox are doing all the time; I can't say exactly what they did all the time… What am I a freaking author? You've got a lot of nerve kid, but you may as well put the gun down, you got me tied to this chair, which makes it hard for me to escape. Yes, I'll get on with the story. _

_Damn kids… OW!

* * *

_

Tyronos trudged through knee deep snow, rubbing his arms against his arms in an attempt to create body heat. He really began hating snow at this point, but wish as he might, the blinding blizzard reminded him of his current predicament. "Shoulda crashed landed on Aquas." He laughed to himself. "I'll remember to crash there next time." He shielded his eyes with his hands in an attempt to improve his sight. It was white all around him, the tracks he had just made had filled with a fresh blanket of snow, Tyronos looked down at his radar, checking for enemies. The screen looked as though it had frozen over. He tapped the screen twice, only to send a crack along the entire length it. Cursing his newest problem, Tyronos looked forward again, now he was really screwed. His life was now depending on the Star Fox team. '_Well, Zarah said this isn't when or where I die, of course that could have meant back there in the arwing…'_ A familiar purple light suddenly appeared in front of him. He growled at it, despising his race's unique powers. "I swear this is the last one I take, and it better get me to the climate control center. With a little more effort Tyronos made it to the purple ball of energy, allowing himself to be absorbed. '_Beats running amok in the snow storm.'_

"What? I just sensed him, now he's gone!" Krystal yelled opening a channel to the Great Fox, giving them her update.

"Gone?" Falco tapped his foot on the floor of his arwing. He looked over to Fox, who seemed to be staring off into space yet again. "What do you think happened McCloud?"

Fox shrugged. "That planet is the worst one to crash land on… Even if we manage to find him in this blizzard he might already be dead." Fox opened his canopy and jumped out of his ship, ignoring the look he got from Falco as he headed back to the bridge. '_Where have I seen him before?'_ The question had been on Fox's mind for a while now, and he wasn't sure how Tyronos would react to him asking such a question, his shyness towards people he didn't know normally doesn't exist when he was on a mission, but something about that grey furred fox reminded him of painful memories.

"Fox, shouldn't you be in your arwing?" Peppy asked as he noticed Fox's presence in the Bridge.

"I need that info I asked for Pep. The really big file about our temp member." Fox sat down in his command chair, barely feeling the comfort it boasted to produce. "I know I've seen him before… but…"

"He does kinda do the time traveling thing Fox, maybe you saw him when you were younger… It's possible he even helped us get to Andross, I guess anything would be possible for someone with that kind of power." Peppy looked back at Krystal's progress, she had already downed one tower and was heading towards her second. "Quite the girl, that Krystal." He heard Fox agree with him as the file appeared on his laptop. "When you gonna pop the question?"

Fox blushed. "W-what e-even makes you think we're even attempting to have a relationship." Peppy only laughed, leaving Fox to his thoughts for a moment.

"She isn't going to wait forever…"

"Drop it Peppy…" Fox muttered, finally opening the military file on Tyronos. "Even if we wanted to be serious, this line of work is too dangerous for us to get together. I've got rivals that would use her against me, or even me against her!"

"James tried to convince your mother to join him in our adventures." Peppy laughed to himself at the memory. "They only thing that kept her from coming was the fact you were born. Even then James insisted that you see the system in all its glory before you turned five. Let me tell you Fox, Krystal is a fighter, she has had about as bad a break in life as you, yet she remains strong." Fox looked up at his old friend. "All I'm saying is a relationship between you and her, however non professional you want to keep it, would be more of a blessing for you two than a hindrance."

"Why the sudden push for a relationship Peppy? You don't plan on leaving anytime soon right?" Fox sounded like a kid again; he folded his arms and eyed Peppy incriminatingly.

"No real reason, but I just got a feeling like you shouldn't let her go…" Peppy turned back around. "And I guess I wouldn't mind knowing someone will take care of you once I am forced to stop doing so myself." They shared a hearty laugh before returning to their respective tasks.

Fox quickly skimmed over the military report. '_Is there a crime he hasn't committed?'_ Fox scrolled down past the many arrest warrants and outstanding court dates, before finally getting to a report about Tyronos's wareabouts.

'_Tyronos, call sign 'Hopeless'. Deemed M.I.A. as of this month, Last known location was Cornerian Flight Academy. All known relatives of Tyronos are either dead or missing. Report of missing persons filed by (name removed to protect the persons involved), if Tyronos or his body is not found within the next week this case will be considered dead, and placed in cold case files.'_

"This file was dated seven years ago." Fox whispered in astonishment, but this still didn't answer his question. He scrolled down to the next article, expecting another military report, but to his surprise found a local newspaper.

'_Mystery Fox rescues kid from fatal crash'_ Read the title, instantly grabbing Fox's attention. "Why would this be in his record?"

'_A fatal crash took the life of a young vixen today. The wife of James McCloud of the Star Fox mercenary team was pronounced dead at the scene. Remarkably, their son, (Named protected) was pulled out of the burning wreck by a Gray Fox. Eye witnesses say the fox appeared out of nowhere, bravely entered the car, which at that point had began setting aflame and pulled the young kit out. The kit was handed off to another passerby and the fox raced to save the vixen. He managed to pull her out, but couldn't save her in time. What happened next, as they told this reporter, couldn't be explained, all they could say, and agree on, was that he simply disappeared into thin air.'_

Fox touched the picture accompanying the story; he knew where he had seen Tyronos before now. "I think I owe him an apology." Fox wiped away a tear, standing up from his seat, the laptop closing behind him. "Did you know Peppy? That he saved my life?" Peppy slowly nodded. "And you didn't think to tell me because?"

"He came to me and James and told us the news himself. Swore us to secrecy, I would have told you, but I had forced myself to forget him, until when we met him back over Fortuna." Peppy sighed heavily. "Look, Krystal is almost got the second tower down, get down to your arwing and wait to launch."

Fox went back to the elevator. "Would explain why you want to see me and Krystal together… Same job, we've got a lot in common and…" the door shut in his face. "I'm head over heels for her."

* * *

"You're doing great Blue, just charge your blast and destroy the generator!" Falco's face disappeared off her com-link as she charged the cannon, firing it at her target.

"Just one tower to go! Then we can fly in and assist looking for Ty!" Slippy squealed, clearly excited about not being the one getting saved.

"Heading to the last one now, theses apariods are relentless." Krystal fired at a few of the bigger enemies, running over the smaller ones. She boosted up a hill, taking out a few stragglers out as she went. "This blizzard is something else, are you sure this control center will make it stop?"

"That center controls the weather for the entire planet, once you restore the power to the center this blizzard will get under control." Fox jumped back into his arwing, now ready to kick some ass.

"Well, about time you came back, missed you."Krystal giggled, she heard Fox chuckle, knowing for a fact he was blushing. "I think I see the last tower, you boys better get ready for a fight."

"I'm in a serious need of action, Hurry up blue!" Falco cracked his knuckles, itching for action.

"We'll be ready for you, don't take too long." Fox wished for their old type of wrist com, he wanted to see her face, and for her to see him giving a thumbs up.

'_You're sweet.'_ Krystal thought, sending him an image of her blowing him a kiss. '_Wish I could see that blush.'_ Krystal drove her Landmaster towards the final tower, focusing on her radar to get around. "Man, I think it got worse, I hope we can get the storm under control soon." Her response was barely audible from the huge amount of static she suddenly got. '_Storm must be cutting out our com… that isn't good.'_ She focused on her radar again; a new bigger red dot appeared and vanished in front of her tank. Assuming it was a glitch due to the storm she motored forward, ramming into aparoids left and right, the last tower finally came into sight. "I got you now."

'_Damn it Krystal, STOP THE FUCKING TANK!'_

Krystal jumped, looking around for the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

* * *

Tyronos sighed to himself. This particular reality he was visiting was just as bleak as Fichina, except warmer, which he didn't mind in the least. As to where he was, he'd been here enough to know this planet by the back of his hand. Kew was never a place he called home, in any way, shape or form. Bad memories flooded his confused mind, twisting him further and further from his assigned task. "Hey you!" Someone shouted, a fight ensued. Tyronos shook his head and walked calmly by the fight, heading to his favorite bar.

"Tyronos! Long time no see, can I get you the usual?" the bartender, a Lynx named Jon asked as the doors hissed open. Few faces turned to look at the newcomer, the braver ones that looked like targets only a bounty hunter would face. Tyronos nodded at the Lynx, tossing money at the counter before pulling up a stool.

"Whats the word Jon? I have no idea how I got here or what year it is. Who's the big targets… who is meeting here tonight?" The questions were on autopilot, his time as a bounty hunter had given him just the right combination of words to throw at barkeeps, and enough money to make their words never stop. Jon began answering his questions, giving him his alcohol. After a few minutes the door opened again, everyone in the bar went quiet, whoever it was that came in clearly claimed some level of respect amongst the thugs. Not one to be out of the loop, Tyronos turned to face the newcomer, sensing something familiar about them already. The guy, was clearly a bounty hunter, everyone looked at this person with a respect only fear could brand into their minds.

"Get me the usual Jon." The voice was male, it was strong but monotone. This bounty hunter had a job, no one came to Kew without a good reason, and Jon was well informed with pretty much anything that was remotely illegal in Lylat. Tyronos knew who it was, but he couldn't yell out his name, not in a place this public, no he would wait until either the other bounty hunter figured out who he was, or jumped him later for staring so long. Tyronos faced front and downed his drink, motioning for another. He was tapped on the shoulder, pretending to lack interest, Tyronos faced the bounty hunter, waiting for the reaction, the same one he always got, disbelief. "Well… I never thought I'd see you again."

"I was hoping this reality wouldn't have any ties to me… guess I was wrong." Tyronos chuckled, extending his hand. The bounty hunter sat down beside him, shaking his hand firmly. "How you been McCloud?"

Fox cringed at the sound of his name. "No one has called me by that in some time." Fox took his drink from Jon, handing him a picture and some cash. "I want anything there is to know about her."

"So, how long has it been?" Tyronos was always afraid of that question; he had to expect not only the unexpected, but the improbable and the insane. He had to mental prepare himself for any and all types of outcomes, and the smallest thing he changed rippled in this particular time stream, dramatically changing it, based on decisions, actions, and even his own thoughts. Though he had no real control when he entered an I.P.T.T., He pretended he did.

"It's been almost six years. A lot has changed, you got time for this?" Fox received a raised eyebrow from Tyronos. "But of course you do." Fox downed his drink, waving off the offer of another. "After we finished up in Fichina we went on to the Aparoids, and Pigma. We searched for you for a few days but duty called us back to support Corneria… You don't want to know what happened there. Anyway, after a few more months with no jobs, Star Fox was put on hiatus." Fox sighed heavily; it was obvious this was a tough subject for him now. "Falco went off on his own, haven't heard from him since the last war. Slippy got married and has a family and a job at the Cornerian Weapons Research and Development as head technician and developer, kinda like his dad's job, but less intense with the lack of anything… Peppy is still the General, lord knows how much longer he's got. Star Wolf turned good, using me as a stepping stone, they had jobs as military officers, only to turn against Corneria again, leaving the system for good. I got rid of the Great Fox, too many memories. About three or four years ago I was contacted by some people who thought my skills could be used and improved upon, I took the deal and haven't looked back since." Fox looked down at the folder Jon had given him, along with another drink on the house. "Must have been minutes for you, you haven't changed since I saw you last."

"Perks of the whole time travel thing." Tyronos scoffed, finishing his third drink. "Not that anything good has come from it. Lost my girl, lost my ship, lost my team." Tyronos stopped, why had he considered Star Fox 'his' team? The Fox back then still hated him and wanted him off the ship as much as he did. It was something he would have to discuss when he made it back. "Wait, you never mentioned Krystal, what happened to her?"

Fox immediately called for another drink. "We had a huge misunderstanding, which led her out off of my ship and out of my life." Tyronos went to say something but Fox stopped him. "Look, this has been on my chest since she left me for good, I know I can trust you, even if I never showed it back then…" Fox swirled the liquid courage around in his glass. "I asked Krystal to leave the team, I did it to keep her safe, to make sure she didn't die like everyone else I loved. I knew she wouldn't like it, and I regretted it the second I let her leave."

"Well, Krystal could handle herself in battle; she'd be a better asset to the team rather than wait at home for you, praying she didn't get a flag and a salute. That isn't as fun as people make it out to be. Why would you even consider kicking her off the team?" Fox slammed the counter with his fist; Tyronos wasn't impressed by his display.

"Look, I know I fucked up, I fucked up big with Krystal and I'm never going to see her again, and that's what cuts the deepest, knowing full well I could have prevented all this from happening." Fox chugged his drink, the glass shaking as his trained emotions began to get the best of him. "To make things worse, during the Anglar War she teamed up with Wolf, starting a relationship with Panther!" Tyronos laughed, the alcohol starting to work its wonders. "I know! Panther, she was over that guy before they even met outside Saragasso. She flew with them during the war, gave them the idea to make me do all the work and let them get all the glory. It hurt, but I had that coming, so when I asked her to forgive me, even if things didn't go back to the way they once were, she laughed at me, and walked away. Shattering my broken heart."

"That's rough, I'm sorry to hear that McCloud, I thought you two would be inseparable forever." Tyronos patted Fox's back.

"How'd you survive after your girl left you for good?" Fox slowly opened the folder before him, pulling out pages and pages of notes.

"To be honest I wouldn't call it 'surviving'. Since Zarah died, I've been seeing life as a glass half empty, and what's filling the glass is the most unpleasant liquid I've ever tasted. I almost didn't make it out of my arwing when I crash landed, but she was there to give me hope, like she always does, so in a sense, she never really died, merely took a higher form of life, working as a guide." Tyronos pulled the dog tags out from under his flight gear, rubbing the cool metal in his hands. "It doesn't help the pain of loss I'm afraid. Nothing except a replacement could fill the void she left, but we promised each other to only love one another… I've stuck to my end of the deal, and I will until we see each other again."

"I couldn't bring myself to love another; I don't want to forget her." Fox went silent, reading this info he had paid for.

"Who's your target?" Tyronos's curiosity finally got the better of him. "Anyone I know?"

"Unless you don't know one of the best bounty hunters alive today, which I'm assuming you do." Tyronos laughed at bold statement. "This one's name is Kursed, and she's got the biggest bounty on her head, next to mine."

"Would explain why people are so fearful of you. But why take out another bounty hunter? Back when I did it another bounty hunter looking for the same bounty you were meant a team up and split the earnings. Don't tell me Bounty Hunters are cutthroats now…"

"They are, and with Lylat on the 'cleaner' side of things now, bounties are few and far between." Fox put the notes back in the folder and pulled out a picture. "Something about her looks…"

"Blue?" Tyronos joked, taking a closer look at the photo. "You know this Kursed does look familiar." As the two foxes looked over the picture, they were deaf to the sound of the door opening once again. The same reaction happened as when Fox walked in, except the audible click of heeled boots hit the floor, the bar gained a very tense atmosphere as people saw the two bounty hunters in the same bar. Many of them went for their hidden weapons, ready for a fight.

"Strongest and cheapest Jon." The new hunter pulled up a stool on the opposite side of Tyronos. Her voice pulled Tyronos's head over to it, this bounty hunter was obviously female, her voice was as cold as the drink she ordered, to protect her from her female emotional roller coaster now doubt. "Something wrong with you bud? Staring is rude you know."

Tyronos shrugged. "As flattered as you'd be by me actually staring, I've promised myself to my girl, though she may be gone from this world, it's no reason to cheat on her now." He watched her grab her drink, noticing the blue fur.

"Your voice sounds…" She turned to face him fully. "We've met… haven't we?"

"That depends, who wants to know. I've got a lot of enemies' lady; I don't need that list to grow." Tyronos ordered another drink, really needing to forget the thoughts he had discussed with Fox earlier. He felt an unknown presence in his mind, instantly forcing it out. He looked around for the culprit, ready to give them a piece of his mind, and they'd get it for free this time.

"Only one person has forced me out of his mind like that." Kursed looked back over at Tyronos. "It's been a while."

Tyronos laughed, not believing what was happening. Fox had showed up and was to his right, reading up on a bounty, now Krystal had showed up, asking Jon for some info… they were both now bounty hunters, and they didn't even know each other was here. "How you been?"

"Better." Krystal took the folder from Jon, returning her attention to Tyronos. "I've been a lot better."

"So I've heard… Six years huh?" Krystal nodded, quickly pulling the file out of the folder. "Who you after?"

"A bounty hunter named Shattered." Krystal quickly read his mind, avoiding the shock she normally got. "You've heard about the shortage huh?"

"You could say that." Tyronos pulled the picture out of the folder. '_Ah shit, they're hired to take out each other! I've got to end this quickly.'_ "Hey, Krystal… do you miss McCloud?"

Krystal hung her head, nodding slowly. "It's like a never ending sea of torment, wave after wave of memories plague my mind when I sleep, when I heard Fox disbanded Star Fox for good, I tried to contact him, but for the life of me I couldn't work up the nerve to call him. I mean I was in Star Wolf at the time… but I never stopped thinking about him." Tyronos handed her the picture. "He looks so much like him…"

"He should… because he is." Tyronos watched the disbelief spread across her face. "Look I don't have a lot of time, as you know I have to finish whatever it is I gotta do by midnight… It's eleven fifty-five, you have to believe me, Shattered is Fox, and he's been contracted to take you out just like you've been asked to take him down."

"Even if I don't believe you. One last time seeing him… would do me good."

"Ty, if you see Krystal, could you tell her that I miss her?" Fox waited for a response but received none. He turned to face Tyronos, seeing him talking to someone else. Fox put a hand on his shoulder, shaking it lightly. "Ty?"

Tyronos looked over his shoulder. "Fox, I need you to promise me you won't shoot first and ask questions later ok?" Fox nodded. "Good, now you said you wanted to talk to Krystal, here's your chance. Tyronos moved out of the way of the bounty hunters, letting them lock eyes with each other. "Don't you even think of starting a fight in here, Jon is a friend and he's got the best bar in town."

"You mean the only bar you're allowed in." Jon chuckled at his joke, cleaning the bar a bit. Tyronos flipped him off. Fox and Krystal continued their stare down, not sure what to think, they hand their hands on their weapons, as did the patrons in the bar.

"Fox?"

"Krys?"

"FUCK!" Tyronos yelled suddenly. He stared at the door; the last person he needed to see was waiting for him. '_Krystal pull Fox over the bar, get to Jon and keep your head down! Do it now!'_ Tyronos jumped to a nearby table, pulling it down to create temporary cover.

"Well, well, well." Kojic snarled causally tossing his gun between both hands. "Look who survived, guess I underestimated you, a mistake that won't happen again." Kojic cackled as he shot at the table Tyronos was hiding behind, his blasts burning deep holes into the table. "You will die by my hand this day, Boy!"

"HEY!" Jon yelled, drawing Kojic's attention from Tyronos. "This is my bar, no one dies here by anyone but me!" Jon pulled an out from under the counter and shot at Kojic, sending him flying back outside. "Tyronos run! Use the cellar and get out of here!"

Tyronos ran and jumped behind the bar, motioning the two very confused foxes to follow him. "Ty, what the hell? Jon has a H. Launcher?" Fox shouted

"You expected him to have something more subtle?" Tyronos yelled back with a grin. "Now come on, we gotta get the fuck out of here." He led them to a secret door, thinking of a place they could hide.

"You can't escape!" Kojic yelled, suddenly time froze, Tyronos watched as Fox covered Krystal from harm, an explosion bursted through the room, stopping just before it hit them. "NO! This can't be what I was supposed to do! I'm supposed to save people!" The whine of a charged gun forced him to face the owner, Kojic laughed at him.

"You think I could be easily defeated? You're trying to hide in times boy, and I can follow you anywhere!" Kojic grinned, staring gleefully in the eyes of his target. Tyronos glared icily at Kojic. "You really think you can save them?"

"I know I can." Tyronos stated, he fell to his knees, the purple orb forming around him. "And this isn't where I die."

"No! You will die here and now!" Kojic pulled the trigger, expecting blood to splatter everywhere, but hit nothing, his blasted disappearing into the growing orb.

"Zarah told me when I was to die… and I'll be ready for it. When they come for me I'll be sitting at my desk with a gun in my hand, wearing a bullet proof vest, saying 'My, My, My, how the time must fly when you know you're gonna die by the end of the night.' No wait that was a song I heard, better luck next time!" Tyronos laughed as he disappeared with the orb, back to the present.

"Next time…" Kojic walked away from the cellar, preparing to follow Tyronos once he stopped time blur. "You won't be so lucky."

* * *

Tyronos felt time return to normal as he slowed it to a stop. His PDA told him that ten minutes had gone by, and that the Aparoids had gotten as bad as the storm, but the thing that stood out most was the temperature. It was well below freezing, and he would have to find warmth fast. "Alright, Krystal should still be down here, time to get her attention. Tyronos thought as loud as possible, feeling stupid as he did so, to ease his mind he made random noises in his head, the loudest sound he made sounded like static. He gave up for a moment, turning around with the PDA to get his bearings. He looked up to see the Landmaster feet from him. Tyronos jumped back and began running away from the speeding tank, but Krystal seemed dead set on getting somewhere. '_Damn it Krystal, STOP THE FUCKING TANK!'_ He thought and yelled. The tank stopped finally, giving Tyronos a chance to jump onto the side of it. He knocked on the glass, barely hearing Krystal say 'Who's there?' Tyronos knocked harder on the glass. '_Krystal, open the hatch, its Tyronos and I'm going to freeze to death if you don't let me the fuck in!' _

The hatch opened slowly, snow starting to fill it, Krystal gasped as Tyronos jumped in as soon as he had enough room. It was a tight fit; Tyronos was forced behind the seat as Krystal continued driving. "How the… when did… why are…" Krystal had so many questions and couldn't voice them; she had sensed Tyronos suddenly, assuming he was knocked out or worse. Now that he was confirmed alive, she wondered what had happened to him.

"Look, I found another I.P.T.T., I followed it and managed to do what I had to do. I'm cold; I'm hurt and stuck in a bad position behind your seat. Please hurry and get a hold of Peppy so I can get to the medical bay." Tyronos groaned, mentioning his injuries had made them hurt, his mind forcing himself to remember pain was good.

"You guys aren't going to believe this, but Ty's alive!" Krystal's word sparked a new conversation; everyone spoke at once, adding further pain to Tyronos via headache. "Peppy he need's medical attention, he could have hypothermia."

"You'll have to get the blizzard to stop before I can get him. Please hold on a little long Ty." Peppy ordered Rob to slowly move closer to the planet.

"Alright, I see the last generator!" Krystal drove the land master ahead a couple more yards before she could see the tower, she charged her shot before aiming at the spinning green power source, instantly destroying it. "Tower down!"

"Excellent!" Falco shouted hitting some buttons in his Arwing, prepping it for launch once again. "Just get to the control center and turn off this blizzard!"

Krystal turned the tank around, using her radar to locate the center, it was a short drive, some aparoids attempted to stop their advance but were tossed aside like rag dolls as the tank smashed into them.

"Didn't know you could drive these things around so well." Tyronos moved around as best he could, given the little amount of space he had. "Nice job."

"Thanks." Krystal stopped the tank by the entrance, popping open the canopy. "You may as well come with me, just in case this is a trap."

Tyronos shimmied out from behind the seat, following Krystal into the climate control center. "I won't be much good without a weapon." Krystal sighed and tossed him her machine gun. "You know these things just sort of float around in random places."

"Cornerian outpost, random patrols… Military intelligence… you know stuff like that." Krystal shrugged; they walked up to the main computer. "This must be it."

"No, I think I see another terminal over there!" Tyronos pointed to the computer screen beside the on Krystal was at, and after receiving a rather rude salute Tyronos walked up to the computer, typing in codes that would bring this blizzard under control.

"So, where did you go this time?" Krystal asked randomly, looking up to the sky, watching the blizzard subside.

"You remember the one I said I didn't want to talk about?" Tyronos had to speak louder to get over the buzz of the blizzard ending. Krystal nodded. "It was worse than that. I couldn't save anyone this time… It never did that before."

"It's a bad time to delve deeper into it… Seems security has taken a liking to us." Krystal pointed at the hundreds of security bots pouring out of the walls. "This isn't going to be easy."

"It never is." Tyronos muttered, he made his way to the door, finding it sealed shut. "We may have a problem."

"We could use some help here guys!" Krystal shot at one of the drones; a shield appeared before it, absorbing the shot. "Quicker the better!"

"Hold on, we're on our way!" Fox felt his ship release from the lift lock, boosting out of the hanger.

"You know." Falco twirled his ship around, doing a slow barrel roll. "We'd get there faster if we had a ship like yours Ty, too bad you had to go and crash it."

Tyronos grinned, expecting something like that from Falco. "Sorry bud, didn't think you cared." He then jumped back from attacking bots, barely dodging them. "Tell you what, I'll tell Slippy how I did it if you get us out of here unscathed."

"You're already hurt…" Krystal muttered over heating her blaster keeping the bots at bay.

"You've ruined 3 whole minutes of laughter you know."

"Almost there, hold on!" Fox pushed his arwing as hard as he could, his computer blaring at him in protest.

"Krystal watch out!" Tyronos yelled, jumping in front of her taking the hit from a security bot. He grunted, falling to the ground. "That hurt…" He rolled away from the bots, Krystal hurrying to his side. "For the record, you owe me." Krystal helped him up, supporting him as they back tracked to a wall.

"If your wit somehow helps with your aim, we'll make it." Tyronos would have glared at her, but given the situation and what he went through to even get to this center, he'd figured he'd let it pass, for now.

"Take this scumbags!" Falco shouted firing volleys of laser fire at the bots, destroying countless droids in his wake. "I'll keep them away from Krystal and Ty; you go pick them up Fox."

"Got it!" Fox flew in low, cutting his arwing at a hard angle, its wing smashing into the floor. Krystal cried out at the sight. "Don't worry Krys, just hurry up and get on, you too Ty."

"Thought you'd never ask." Tyronos followed Krystal on to the nearest wing, shooting one last security bot before Fox took off.

"Hold on tight guys, we've got a bunch of enemies on the ground still." Falco flew over beside Fox, allowing Tyronos to jump onto his arwing. "Get out your blasters, and take care of our admirers sure shot." Tyronos and Krystal pulled out blasters out of nowhere.

"This is more like a pulse cannon than a blaster…" Tyronos sighed and watched the ground below. "Might I remind you folks that I need medical attention, sooner rather than later."

"Wussy." Falco grabbed his controls lurching his arwing forward a little, nearly sending Tyronos off the ship. "Hey Slippy, get over here and get Ty, take him back to the Great Fox."

"We're in the atmosphere so it shouldn't take you too long to get here." Peppy ordered Rob to stop the Great Fox; it was now a few miles out from the climate control center.

"On my way." Slippy came up behind Falco.

'_Always making me jump…'_ Tyronos jumped off Falco's wing, landing badly on Slippy's canopy, he landed wrist first on the unforgiving glass. Tyronos howled in pain, yelling every curse word he could think of. "Ok, I'm done hurting myself… get me on the Great Fox before I become more accident prone." Slippy boosted towards the hanger with Tyronos somehow managing to hang on.

"Falco focus on the airborne enemies, I'll sweep around the center slow so Krystal can get those guys locking onto us." Falco pulled away from Fox, taking out enemies that had flew in after the blizzard subsided. "Alright Krys, look for the enemies charging a red beam, those ones have got a lock on us."

"Got it." Krystal began shooting at the enemies on the ground, her blaster auto locking itself onto them. Fox sped up a little bit, trying to help Krystal get a better kill streak than Falco. '_I hope Ty is ok, he saved me from getting hit by one of those security drones.'_

"Guess I got two things to thank him for now." Fox said more to himself, blushing slightly.

"I'm on my way back now guys." Slippy hurried to the center.

"Right, Peppy pull back out of the atmosphere and get Ty to the medical bay." Fox had nearly completed his loop of the grounds surrounding the control center.

"Already on it, I'll be out of contact while I assist Tyronos in getting there." Peppy jumped out of his seat, meeting Tyronos at the elevator. Peppy caught him as he fell towards the ground. "You've been better huh?"

"Yousa mighten be saying that." Tyronos said in a funny accent. He used Peppy for support as he limped beside him, his right hand dangling uselessly beside him.

"Fox found the article." Peppy pressed his hand against the scanner opening the door to the medical bay. "You've got a sprained wrist, mild hypothermia, few scrapes and bruises. I'll set your wrist but you won't be able to fly for a while, at least a day and a half."

Tyronos nodded at Peppy, allowing him to work on setting his wrist to heal properly. "So Fox knows… Guess that was inevitable… he find it using the military file?" Peppy looked up at him then back down to his wrist. "So then… he knows when he saw me before, just like Falco found out before."

"You are going to tell Slippy and Krystal where you met them before right?"

Tyronos looked over at the closed door. "When they ask, I'll tell."

"Fox, I checked out the robots and it turns out they were aparoids!" Slippy shot down another airbourne enemy before slowing his arwing to a stop. He looked at the center, scanning for more aparoids to shoot, but what he saw next he couldn't explain. He watched in horror as part of the building began to move. "F-Fox!"

"Oh shit…" Fox swore flying away from the now moving shield generator. "That thing is infected!"

"That's right, and the one pulling the strings is me! Pigma!" Pigma laughed his ship appearing from inside the center.

"You dirty swine!" Falco boosted after Pigma, determined to take him down this time. "Stop running cowered!"

"You should worry less about me, and more about your new friend!" Falco cursed, refusing to give up the chase.

"Falco let him go, worry about that aparoid!" Peppy sat back down in his chair, not pleased about Pigma getting away either. "We'll track him on the radar, just handle things down there." Peppy used the transfer device to send an arwing down to the planet. "I'm sent an Arwing for Krystal." Fox flew to the arwing, landing briefly enough to let Krystal off.

"Smooth sailing McCloud." Krystal swayed to her arwing, skillfully jumping into the pre-warmed cockpit, glad to be out of the elements. Fox nearly ran into Falco while taking off, clearly distracted by Krystal.

The tube-like aparoid began shooting out more aparoids, these 'puffs of cloud and snow' had a purple tinge to them, they didn't do a whole lot of damage when they hit the arwing's shields, it was mostly a distraction, for what they didn't know until Peppy's scanner picked up on was that the base was going to overload if the aparoid wasn't brought down. Peppy put a timer on their screens, urging them to hurry.

"Enemy shield analysis complete, bringing it up on the monitor." Falco shot more and more of the floating aparoids, getting nowhere fast.

"What its weak point Slip?" Krystal asked as she helped Falco fend off the tide of enemies pouring out of the 'mouth' of the tube.

"It's inside the tube; look for that same purple orb. Normal laser fire will still hurt it, but I suggest nova bombs this time." Slippy moved his arwing in front of the big, walking tube. "Hold off those annoying things so I can line up a shot." Fox came over and began helping Falco and Krystal destroy the smaller aparoids. Slippy took his shot as the mouth opened, taking the shields down to half. "One more shot."

"Nice knowing you." Falco shot just as the mouth closed, a few seconds passed before the aparoid finally began exploding and falling over. The four teammates cheered, stopping to hover over the climate control center.

"Nice job guys, come on back." Peppy said getting up to go check on Tyronos.

"Aparoids can take over any type of machine huh?" Falco lead the team back towards the Great Fox.

"In a sense." Slippy sighed. "Those without strong wills can be turned to evil."

"That's fucked man, getting attacked by your allies…" Falco shook his head at the thought.

"Those without strong wills, allies and enemies." Fox sounded sad, clearly that struck a chord with a memory he had. Krystal scanned his mind, a image of his Father was the only thing she could see.

"What's up Fox?"

"Nothing, just reminds me of someone I know that's all." Fox remained quiet for the rest of the trip, his mind focusing now on what he was going to do once he got back on the Great Fox.

* * *

"Can't fly for a day and a half, and we're tracking Pigma?" Tyronos growled in frustration. "Why the fuck am I so accident prone?" Tyronos had been cleared from the medical bay by Peppy and was now in his room, holding the dog tags in his good hand, rubbing them gently. "You always fixed my problems Zarah, I pray you will continue to help me, even if I can't see you." A knock at the door disturbed the silence that had fallen in the room. Tyronos walked over to the door and opened it. "Can I help you?"

"Can I come in?" Fox asked, feeling slightly embarrassed, he knew he owed Tyronos a huge apology, but couldn't find the words to begin with. Tyronos stepped aside and let McCloud in, closing the door behind him. "Look, Ty… I've been a real asshole to you ever since you came on board."

Tyronos knew where this was going and saved Fox the hassle of explaining himself. "It's alright, I forgive you."

"I… Wait you what?" Fox was dumbfounded, how did he know he was going to apologize? Was he a telepath like Krystal?

"Peppy told me you found the article in my military file. Yes, I saved your life from the crash, tried to save your mother's too, I… I would have told you earlier, but you didn't trust me then, and I doubt you would believe me." Tyronos sat down on his bed sighing lightly.

"Well, thank you for trying to save her, and for saving me." Fox walked back to the door, opening it. He looked back at Tyronos, expecting a snappy comeback, but received none. "I mean it…"

"It's part of the job." Tyronos grinned at Fox, standing up and offering his hand. Fox walked back and took it, shaking it firmly. "I am sorry for insulting you back over Fortuna that was out of line for me."

Fox released his hand, patting him on the shoulder. "Shit happens; like I said then we know that kind of pain all too well around here. And before forget; Krystal told me that you took a hit for her down in the control center. Thank you, it means a lot to me and Krystal."

Tyronos's grin widened. "Well let's just say you and her better stay together, things can get awkward in the future if you don't." Tyronos pushed Fox out of his room and shut the door, leaving Fox both stunned and confused.

"Wait what happens to us in the future?!"

Tyronos lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. "If you survive long enough I might just tell you."

* * *

**Another** chapter down, gosh so much happened, I thought I would include a trip for Ty into a time tear for the heck of it, and for a major twist completely unrelated to the story but at the same time in the believable future.

Anywhayz review and such,

Peace,

H-T


	7. Chapter 7

**OMG** I know, taking forever, but got some HUGE plot twists! YAY! IT MAKES UP FOR IT!

* * *

"_No, I don't know all of what happened during this mission."_

'_Tell me what you know then!'_

"_Finally you speak close enough for this hidden tape recorder to hear you! My congratulations…. Now untie me. Don't give me that look; I'm not going to bolt. You have to hear this story in full or else you won't know everything!"_

"_Fine, but don't try anything, I know how your kind can get!"_

"_My kind? Kid we are both foxes here, your racism is misplaced."_

"_Kid? I've lost everything my parents built; they defended this system for peace… and what did they get for it? Once they settled down they were out casted, forgotten and never spoke of again, until Oikonny returned and killed my dad in cool blood, my mom told me to run and search for a fox named Tyronos, and that he would be able to help us all, then I watched her die as well."_

"_Holy shit… You're… a McCloud?!"_

"_Marcus McCloud, and you, 'Hopeless', I have spent my entire life looking for you, I have a score to settle with Oikonny, and you will help me get it."_

"_Fine, I was in the same boat as you kid, now drop the gun and listen up. I don't know exactly what happened during the mission through the asteroid field, but I can tell you what I know, and there is a data pack in my pocket. It has the entire log from Aparoid War on it. Skip to pack twenty, which should be where it started. Now get me untied, now that it's no longer so formal. We need to start moving, my enemies, are now your enemies and your parents would kill me if I let you die now."_

* * *

**Great Fox Guest Room**

Tyronos stirred as his slumber was interrupted once again by the short beeping. Cursing his inability to drown out high pitched noises, he sat up and looked at the screen; he had received four messages, one confirming his arwings destruction. Another two from General Pepper in regards to his health and his mission ready status, the last was from Slippy. This message was the only one that really intrigued him, as Slippy seemed way too shy to outright contact him. Tyronos opened the message, finding out that Slippy was awake and wanted to talk with him as soon as possible. Groaning in mild pain, Tyronos forced himself upright, after a quick shower and some fresh clothes that were supplied to him, Tyronos made his way to the kitchen.

"That was quick!" Slippy said as he saw Tyronos enter the kitchen. "Considering your injuries, how are you doing?"

Tyronos grabbed a mug and poured some coffee into it, gulping it down greedily. "Been better, I'll survive, whats up Slip?"

Slippy suddenly grew a great interest in his own mug. "Well, Ty… you know how those Interplantary Time Tears work, it got me to thinking… I've seen you before, but I can't for the life of me figure out where." Tyronos sighed and finished his coffee, Slippy was right, he had seen him before. Tyronos thought about it for a while, noticing that it made Slippy all the more uncomfortable. "I mean, I think I did I don't know for sure… but I know I have, and the more I think about it the harder it gets for me because I can't remember when or where!"

Tyronos set his mug down, the noise disturbing Slippy's rant. "Slippy, you woke me up at three in the morning, made horrible coffee, and now demand this info from me?" Slippy's face lost color, pissing off Tyronos wasn't on his to-do list this morning. "And you can't remember when… Good thing I can." Slippy nearly fainted right there, but focused his attention completely on Tyronos now, his coffee unimportant. "Do you remember way back when Fox asked you to join the team as the mechanic?"

"Yeah, he came to me all excited, at first I thought he'd lost it, but then again he was the son of James McCloud, how could I say no?" Slippy laughed at the memory of Fox running towards him, nearly tripping over everything in his excitement. "You know I'm still to this day glad to have joined, never a dull moment around here, especially now with Krystal on board, Falco's never been wittier!"

"Yeah, Falco's witty alright, borderline retarded if you ask me." The two shared a laugh, before Tyronos filled Slippy's mug back up with coffee, and fetching a bag of 'tea' leaves for himself.

"My coffee really that bad?" Slippy asked with a wine, Tyronos shook his head, smiling to himself.

"This is doctor ordered tea to help my nerves, tastes horrible… but totally worth it." Tyronos steeped his 'tea' and continued with his story. "Anyway, do you remember that design contest you entered just before then?"

"Yeah, I got second place in that contest… Someone tampered with my project, it still worked, but I couldn't completely fix it, some other mechanic won and got to be chief mechanic for the Cornerian forces, it was my dad's old job, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps." Slippy sighed rotating the warm liquid in his mug before sipping it.

"OK, that much you remember, good. So let's say you won that, you would be chief mechanic for Cornerian forces correct?" Slippy nodded. "Then you wouldn't be as quick to jump ship and go and join Star Fox, right?"

"Ok, yeah. I guess I'd still be there right now."

"Right, so the way I see it, you can't get mad at me." That peeked Slippy's interest, and before he could speak Tyronos silenced him. "I sabotaged your invention Slippy, and I did it so Fox would pick you to go with him on his team, and we know for a fact that if Fox saw that you had a career in front of you, he wouldn't tear you away from it. Now, I pretend to be a judge, when we came up to yours I was the one who said, 'Better luck next time.'"

"You!" Slippy didn't know what to think, here was the guy who cost him his dream job, but also gave him the job he had now, his real dream job. "Should I punch you or thank you?"

"Whatever floats your boat Slip." Tyronos downed his tea, shaking and twitching at the taste, forced himself to swallow the vile concoction. "I've got to check in with Pepper, I'll talk to you later."

"Later." Slippy waved at him as Tyronos left the kitchen, with a sigh and a small laugh, Slippy gathered up their mugs and put them in the sink, and he dumped out the remaining coffee, and put a new pot on, figuring someone would be up in the next two hours. "My coffee doesn't suck!"

* * *

**Great Fox Bridge – 4 hours later**

"Rob, give me the situation out there!" Fox ordered as both he and Krystal entered the bridge.

"Always this late together?" Tyronos asked Falco as he noticed the two other foxes enter.

Falco laughed. "You didn't hear how they release tension?" They laughed at what Falco was implying, causing both Krystal and Fox to glare at them.

"I don't really care what they do on their own time, besides if Zarah was still alive, and on board we'd release some tension as well."

"Even you two!" Fox growled, not really wanting to let that conversation get too out of hand.

"Come on Fox, it's not like it's a secret anymore, not with these guys anyway." Krystal giggled, grabbing Fox's hand. Fox's face matched a tomato as from that comment.

"Asteroid field is making it hard to track Pigma, this is where the signal leads." Rob blared from his station, getting the conversation back on topic.

"Seriously?" Falco yawned, already bored at the idea of an asteroid field. "Does he think he can run? Does he think he can hide? Don't mess with us Pigma!"

"What is this like an amusement park for gang members?" Fox asked looking over to Tyronos and Falco.

"You know it." They answered in unison.

Peppy folded his arms and nodded. "Finally, this time we'll get that core memory!"

"Let's move!"

Tyronos sat down beside Peppy, hanging his head. "Still not cleared to fly huh?" Peppy shook his head, opening up the com channel. "Well I guess sitting here and annoying you is the next best thing."

"Pepper requested to speak with you, so I suggest you get to it." Peppy stated, smirking at Tyronos.

"I talked to him this morning; He told me what I needed to know. So yeah, you're stuck with me." Tyronos relaxed more into the seat, grinning as he heard Peppy sigh.

* * *

**Asteroid Field**

The five ships sped towards the giant chunks of floating rock, the pilots happy to finally end this chase with Pigma. Tyronos grit his teeth, he had seen what would happen if Pigma won here, and he knew Fox had stop him, he only hoped that he could do it without his help.

"What's that? It looks like… a Wolfen?" Slippy asked as they entered the field.

"What the hell was Wolf's team doing here?" Fox thought out loud, shrugging off the question.

"Does that mean Wolf and his team were destroyed?" Falco sighed. "Great, now we need a new team rivals."

"I'm sensing faint brain patterns. They abandoned ship!" Krystal flew her arwing away from the vessels and back to the team.

"Keep your guards up team!" Fox shouted as they flew further into the ever growing population of rocks.

Tyronos laughed to himself, either the tea was still effecting him or whenever the team spoke their entire face minus their mouths stayed still, and even then the mouth movement was so out of sync it provided him lots of entertainment. Peppy's sigh grew louder, he cursed under his breath. "Ty, why don't you look over the systems, some of us have a job to do right now."

Tyronos stood up and walked from Peppy's chair to where Falco would normally sit, checking the systems as instructed. "You know Peppy, if you didn't want me near ya, you could have asked."

"It's not your fault Ty; I haven't had a decent night's sleep in a while." Peppy yawned as if to prove his point. "Fox and Krystal aren't exactly quiet."

Tyronos laughed, nearly falling to the ground. "Peppy, say no more, go take a nap, I'll watch over the team, and before you say no, I'll remind you that I've seen this before."

"What are these things chasing the arwings?" Slippy yelled over the com channel, sending chills up Peppy's spine.

"Ok, sure, thanks." Peppy ran from the room. Tyronos walked back to Peppy's chair and sat down in it.

"Alright folks, Peppy's taking ten… or whatever, napping if you will. So I'm taking over, my advice Slippy? DO A BARREL ROLL! L BUTTON!" The silence that followed unnerved the team; no one really knew what to say.

"The fuck is an L button?" Fox asked, breaking the silence. Everyone laughed then, and set their focus back onto the mission.

"Watch out something's out there!" Krystal said as enemies began appearing behind the asteroids.

Falco growled. "That fucking Pigma, he must have something planned!" The team easily shot down both asteroids and enemies alike, pushing their way through the field with more ease then they had anticipated.

"Damn it, these guys just don't give up!" Fox boosted away from his followers, but they still managed to stick with him. Suddenly they exploded behind him, Fox sighed in relief. "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime sexy." Krystal purred, causing Fox to blush. "Looks like you owe me one."

"Enough foreplay guys jeez." Tyronos sat back in Peppy's rather comfortable chair. "Oh shit, looks like you guys are coming up on something huge!"

"As if the lasers mounted on asteroids, and the kamikaze rocks weren't enough." Falco tightened his grip on his controls.

"What the hell?" Slippy felt his nerves begin to work against him. "How are we supposed to beat that?"

"Follow the fearless leader!" Tyronos laughed. "God damn, do I wish I could join you guys. Give them hell!"

"Is he on drugs?" Krystal whispered, watching four heads nod at her. "Great."

"Don't worry Krystal, I'm quite sober now." Tyronos snapped into a new mode, ready to assist his team. "Seems like Pigma was either really busy, or is really lucky to have found a nearly complete base."

"Never missed an opportunity like that." Fox muttered. "Get ready guys."

"Fox, stay calm, don't let the past mess with your judgment now." Falco warned, getting his by a stray blast. "Son of a…" He boosted towards the base, taking down ship after ship as the rest of the team followed the hot headed ace into battle.

"Say what happened to all the asteroids?" Slippy inquired, pointing out the obvious lack of non-base items floating anywhere near them.

"Slippy! Less talkie,talkie, more shootie shootie!" Tyronos yelled, snapping Slippy's attention back to the fight. "And for god's sake, do a fucking somersault to get rid of those enemies behind you!"

"Krystal look out behind ya!" Fox shouted, taking out the enemies that she had picked up. "Got 'em!"

"Thanks Fox!" Krystal said, falling back into formation as they moved up the wall. "Pigma must know we're here by now, I can sense a lot of enemies moving towards us!"

"What the fuck is that?" Falco yelled as a new enemy appeared before them. It looked very similar to the knight shaped enemy they had fought over Fortuna, but it looked like it had been infected.

"It's been infected by the aparoids!" Krystal yelled, the four ships began to shoot at the new enemy.

"Alright charge up your shots, this is taking too long!" Fox said, waiting for his team to ready their weapons. "FIRE!" The quad-shot instantly destroyed the infected prototype.

"You'd think this would be harder!" Falco flew towards the opening in the base.

"Three levels of difficulty." Tyronos muttered. "Ok it's showing here that the base isn't complete so you should be able to fly through it no problem!"

"Roger!" Fox boosted his ship towards the base interior, charging his laser as he went.

* * *

Tyronos shifted uncomfortably in Peppy's chair, thinking it was just the effects of his tea, he tried to ignore it. However, the more he tried to relax, the more worked up his mind got.

"You can't save them, Tyronos."

'_Kojic!'_ Tyronos gave up on relaxing now. Kojic still wanted him dead, and there wasn't any I.P.T.T. around to save him this time.

"What the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Kojic laughed his ship finally in the sights of the Great Fox. "Do you honestly think they can beat them?"

"I've seen it happen, even without my help." Tyronos spat, he couldn't show fear, Kojic would capitalize if he saw even a moment of weakness. "Fox just has to remember what he's fighting for."

"Love? You think that his love will be enough to keep his team safe?" Kojic laughed, turning his ship around. "Well it seems you've sentence your own fate, my boy, I'll be back to pick the bones."

"You don't know what you're messing with, Kojic. Don't fuck with this team, especially with Fox or Krystal." Tyronos growled, he had to keep Kojic's threats on himself or else everyone would be in danger.

"Boy, don't think for a second you've got what it takes to bring me down. This ship alone has the power to destroy the very ship you call a home." Kojic began locking on to the Great Fox. "Try me."

"Kojic, your fight is with me, not this ship, this team or even this system. It mearly plays a host to our cat and mouse game." Tyronos sighed. "Leave them alone, and I'll let you win."

"So, I guess we know the real reason they call you 'Hopeless', You've got soft since we last had this standoff, normally by now you've moved to a different time. What holds you here now?"

"The idea of getting revenge on the person that caused your true self's death… Now it's just to make sure you don't interfere where you don't belong."

"And you think you do?"

* * *

"What? Is that Pigma?!" Falco yelled as the team saw Pigma slowly being absorbed by purple goop. The shouting drew Tyronos's attention away from Kojic, giving him enough time to disappear. Tyronos thought about what Kojic said, this was his time, wasn't it? Why wouldn't he belong here? Tyronos shook his head, it was something he would have to think about later, right now he had to make sure Fox destroyed Pigma, things would not go well if he didn't.

"Look the memory core! He's absorbing it!" Krystal flew in as Pigma's body was full absorbed; a blinding light erupted from the giant ship, causing the team to fly back, shielding their eyes.

"Krystal get back here!" Fox yelled, he looked at the new enemy, Pigma's face was at the center, while six arms move spastically around it. "That isn't Pigma anymore, Who or what are you?"

"We will answer, we are the ultimate liveform, we are the ultimate exsitance, you will join us or you will be destroyed." The enemy used Pigma's voice.

"Seriously?" Falco sighed charging his laser, and firing at the face, hitting it perfectly in Pigma's face.

"Shield analysis complete, bringing it up on the monitor!" Slippy said as he sent the info to the other arwings, as well to Tyronos.

"Those arms are throwing asteroids! Watch out!" Krystal moved out of the way of the huge space rock, firing at the arm that threw it at her, damaging it enough for it to rip itself off the ship. "Boo-yeah!"

"Seriously?" Falco repeated.

Fox growled as he dodged another asteroid, the more he shot at Pigma's face, the more consumed by rage he became. "DIE YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" Fox roared as he sent a volley of laser fire towards Pigma, it did little damage as Pigma shielded his face, seconds before impact. "FUCK!"

"Fox, calm down!" Tyronos yelled, watching the team leader freak out sent warnings in his mind. "If you don't then this mission is a failure!"

"You don't understand!" Fox growled, relentlessly firing blast after blast at Pigma. "This fuck killed my father!"

"And if you don't stop you are going to kill a teammate ok?" Tyronos hated bringing this kind of information to different realities. "I've seen this before, and if you don't focus, and calm your nerves you will get Falco or Krystal killed!"

Fox stopped shooting blindly, a stray blast nearly hitting Krystal as she made an attack run. "Stop kidding around Fox!" Fox looked down at his controls, his shields where nearly gone, and his guns were overheating, he felt time slow down as he watched his team destroy arm after arm, until there was none left.

"Fox, remember when you said that you knew my pain? I know yours too; this isn't what James would want. I know you want to be the one to end this, and trust me you will. You aren't in a solo operation here, everyone knows what Pigma has done to your family, and they will let you get the revenge you want, just don't let it control your thoughts."

"Fox, take this!" Falco said as he flew in front of him, a nova bomb in his wake.

"You know Tyronos; I never thought you'd be the one to give me a verbal punch to the head." Fox boosted towards the bomb, aiming it at the exposed face of Pigma.

"End this fool!" Slippy yelled, throwing everyone off balance. Fox aimed once more at Pigma.

"This is for James McCloud!" he yelled, firing the nova bomb. Pigma yelled as he was hit by the bomb, the doors closed once more before Pigma's yelled grew louder, a brilliant light surrounded body of Pigma's new ship, before disappearing with an explosion, leaving only the memory core in the aftermath. "Grab that core Slippy, and get it ready to send back to corneria. Rob get ready to go back home. Good job team."

'_Thank you Tyronos, I didn't think Fox could be calmed down…'_ Krystal's thoughts entered Tyronos's mind, his mental defenses dropped. '_Hey it doesn't shock me when I enter your mind!'_

'_It was nothing, and don't get to used to it… My mental barriers are weaker when Kojic is around.'_ Tyronos looked out towards space, not looking forward to discussing anything that was said. "Oh shit, Peppy is still asleep!"

* * *

**Future - ???**

"_I thought you said you didn't know what happened? Sounds like you were there for the whole thing!"_

"_Marcus, you don't know what kinda of tea I had do you?"_

"_Whatever, you said we had to get moving. Where did you have in mind?"_

"_An old base I used, with permission from Pepper. No one knows about it, it's hidden on Fortuna."_

"_How soon can you get us a ship? And who is after us?"_

"_I've got one on the outskirts, Corneria isn't as friendly as she used to be. As for who's following us its—"_

"_Who?"_

"_No time, he's here! I hope that gun is loaded! Shoot that door!"_

"_What?"_

"_JUST DO IT KID!"_

"_It has been a long time Tyronos!"_

"_That voice sounds familiar!"_

"_He's here…. Kojic found us."_

**!!!!!! **WTH?! Kojic is in the future? Tyronos is talking with Marcus? (This chapter was really short?) Peppy is asleep?!

I think things just picked up!

H-T


	8. Chapter 8

**lol, **chapter... er something or other, =D Continuing on with the whole 'plot' thing!

* * *

**Future**

Tyronos swore loudly as the last piece of moveable furniture was moved in front of the door. "Kid, did you check to make sure you weren't followed?"

"What?" Marcus asked, being pulled back into reality. "Sorry, it's been awhile since I heard their voices… It took me back."

"We don't have time for remembering!" Tyronos snapped, rubbing his sore hand. "You've let the single most dangerous person alive waltz right into were the guy he wants to kill was being held captive! Now he'll want to kill you…" Tyronos looked around, frantically searching for an exit. "Fucking amateurs…"

"Hey, fuck you Tyronos." Marcus spat, pointing his blaster back at the grey furred fox. Tyronos looked at him skeptically, hitting the gun from his hand without a second thought.

"Kid, don't push me ok? I'm not in the mood to play around." Tyronos grabbed Marcus's hand pulling him to a window nearby. "Boost me up!"

Marcus growled but readied himself to boost Tyronos up. Tyronos jumped up and grabbed the window ledge, pulling Marcus up with him after a few minutes of effort. "We should be in the clear huh?"

"We're never in the clear, Kojic won't make it that easy for me." Tyronos sighed, tapping a few buttons on his wrist com.

"Why would Kojic want to kill you so bad? And why me? And when did you get that wrist com back?" Marcus folded his arms starring hard at Tyronos who seemed to busy looking at his com then listening to the younger fox.

'_Perfect, that base is still functioning, should provide us with the means to get out of here.' _Tyronos thought, jumping down from the ledge, rolling as he hit the ground. He heard a thump as Marcus hit the ground beside him. "Your car is around front, lets hope Kojic doesn't get out before—"

"YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN?" Kojic yelled, a loud blast came from inside the building.

"Oh that's not good. Time to run kid!" Tyronos began running towards the front of the building, various pieces of it flying past them as Kojic blasted his way through the walls. Marcus followed, trying his best to keep up with Tyronos, amazed that someone that old could move so quickly. Once they got to the car, Marcus went to the driver's seat, only to be pushed out of the way. "Don't question it Marcus, you've still got to see what happened, plug this into your laptop, and don't raise your head." Marcus jumped in the back seat, to stunned at the explosions happening around him to argue. Tyronos jumped into the driver's seat, pulling away as the car came to life, driving towards his ship, and safety.

Kojic walked calmly amongst the destruction he caused, admiring the handy work. "Well Tyronos, you've got him further than last time… I think I'll let this one play out." With that Kojic kept walking, the smile on his face widening as crews showed up to put out the fires.

X

Tyronos sighed, happy to be free once more, he passed back a SD card to Marcus. "That contains the next mission; I need you to watch that while I get us to safety."

"Why would that Kojic guy want to kill me?" Marcus asked taking the ancient data chip and pushing it into the equally as old laptop.

"Jealousy." Tyronos answered, his focus more on the traffic than on Marcus. "No one has been able to capture me quite like you did… I let my guard down for a second then wake up with a gun to my head. Nice job kid. Now please, watch that video, I should have a multi camera angle of the Sauria Mission."

"Sauria? That's where they got married." Marcus mumbled, hitting play as the movie loaded.

"Sauria is where it all started going downhill for me." Tyronos sighed again, reliving that mission was especially painful.

* * *

**Present – Great Fox Bridge**

The five team member stood in front of a hologram screen of General Pepper, waiting for the old hound to speak.

"Great work Star Fox! I knew you could recover the core memory!" Pepper said folding his arms behind his back. "We've sent the memory to Beltino and he is busy researching it as we speak!"

"Good to hear General!" Fox felt the tension in the room disburse, everyone knew the Great Fox's transmissions hadn't been stellar.

"Now we can take down the apariods!" Slippy cheered, high-fiving Tyronos.

"Wow, those results were quick! Gotta hand it to Beltino, he's got a top notch team working for him, It seems we can now launch an attack on the Aparoid Queen, who makes her vile nest on their home planet! Come back to Corneria, we'll brief you on our attack plans." Pepper handed back the hand held screen to someone, before returning his attention to the star fox team.

"Will do General. We're on our-"

"Fox!" Krystal said, her ears twitching in random directions, Fox stopped mid-sentence, looking over at her. "I'm sensing a distress call… it's from Sauria!"

Fox turned to face her fully. "Sauria? From Tricky?"

Krystal shook her head, fighting off the urge to cry. "I'm not sure, but I sense cries of agony!"

"Sauria, hey isn't that where you saved Krystal?" Falco asked, he watched everyone else move to get ready, his question ignored. "I'll take the fact that no one stayed to answer my question as a yes."

"A course has been set for Sauria, estimated time of arrival is thirty minutes." Rob blared over the PA.

"That's not soon enough, I need everyone to get their ships ready for launch then meet me in the briefing room!" Fox ordered, sending everyone rushing to the elevator.

**25 Minutes later**

Tyronos waited outside the briefing room, waiting for Fox and Krystal to get there. '_Krystal's is the hardest to explain…'_ He thought, bringing down his mental barrier so that she could hear his mind.

'_Why is that?'_ Krystal spoke to his mind, taking advantage of his lack of defense.

'_I'd prefer to say it rather than relive it. Not that tell you will make it any easier.'_Tyronos watched as Fox and Krystal walked to him. Fox nodded at him before entering the briefing room. "You're likely wondering what I'm going to say."

"You might say that… Your thoughts are much to scramble for me to focus on. What did you want to tell me? How I should remember you?" Krystal patted Tyronos on the shoulder. "Would you be surprised if I say that I don't?"

"No." Tyronos muttered. "You were too young to remember me."

* * *

'_What the hell this thing just froze!'_

'_Your mother requested it to be, and I won't go against that promise. She would have told you once you were old enough. Don't ask me what happened ok? It's something I promised to keep a secret all those years ago, and I intend to keep it that way!'_

'_How can I ask her if she's fucking dead?'_

'_You don't know what an I.P.T.T. is do you?'_

'_Should I?'_

'_You want revenge? Oikonny died years ago in a military attack, so in this time you've lost your chance at revenge, and now that Kojic is here you and me are going on a field trip.'_

'_To where?'_

'_You should be asking when. Now shut up and watch… we're almost there.'_

* * *

"Look, the dinosaurs… this is horrible…" Slippy turned his eyes away from the screen, unable to watch anymore.

"What have they done to Sauria's dinosaurs?" Fox growled most of the infected dinosaurs were ones that he had saved the last time he was here.

"The aparoids have infected the locals; it looks like they didn't stand a chance."Peppy folded his arms, shaking his head in sorrow.

"These dinosaurs were peaceful, why would the aparoids attack here?" Tyronos thought out loud, rubbing his chin. "This can't be a random attack."

"Alright, Krystal and I will go down there and kill those hatchers, since we know the area better than the rest of you, Falco and Slippy, the skies are yours. Peppy is Tyronos cleared for duty?" Fox looked over to Peppy who nodded back. "Ok, Ty you're gonna be in a landmaster, giving us all some back up understood?" The team announced their agreement, most of them heading for the door.

"A mission together at last!" Krystal said in a flirty tone, causing Fox to stutter and blush.

"Yeah, and it isn't role-playing this time, now let's go!" Falco shouted from the hallway, racing towards his ship with a goofy grin on his face.

* * *

**Sauria – 15 minutes later**

"Ok you guys all have your orders, let's save this planet!" Fox looked at his radar checking for the nearest Hatcher. '_There you are you son of a bitch.'_"Got my sights on a hatcher going into destroy it!"

"I got one too!" Krystal charged up her shot, aiming for the hatcher near her. A few aparoids appeared infront of her as she released the blast, wiping them out and leaving the hatcher with minimal damage done to it. "Damn it, some of the aparoids blocked my shot!"

"Clear 'em out and take down the hatcher Krys!" Fox turned to face a giant aparoid, growling at his misfortune, as the creature went to strike him, it stopped, screeching as it was hit from behind. Fox walked out from behind the corpse, watching Tyronos hovering a few yards away.

"I think I found a new toy." Tyronos grinned, turning the cannon skyward and charging the laser. "Let there be death!"

"Destruction of hatcher confirmed!" Rob shouted over the com link.

"Nice job Krystal, there is another one close to it; find it with your radar!" Peppy said quickly, watching over the battle.

"I swear he's sleeping right now and has those responses set up." Falco laughed, shooting down an enemy. "Slippy hold up you got one on ya!" Falco boosted towards the toad, blasting his way through the trail following him. "I swear it's like you lead a parade or something."

"Shut up Falco, seriously… Give your beak a rest." Slippy snapped, pulling a somersault and killing an enemy that managed to get behind Falco.

"Skies are pretty clear, focusing on the land enemies!" Tyronos blasted another group of smaller aparoids. "Watch out behind you Krystal!" He shot a growing group of larger aparoids.

"Do you think Tricky and the others got to safety?" Slippy asked quietly, his aggressive attitude gone.

"Judgeing by the severe lack of dinosaurs anywhere, I'll assume yes." Tyronos turned his tank around to follow Fox as he moved from his last hatcher to another one.

"You think that they are safe? How can you tell… you know what assuming does right?"

"Kojic…" Tyronos whispered, frantically searching for the source of this torment. Time froze again for him. Kojic walked calmly towards the landmaster, walking around the frozen aparoids until he was at the canopy.

"You think that I'll kill you? No, I've got something better planned." Kojic laughed as he looked back to Fox. "You see, my grandson, Time is never on our side, for you it might be a couple seconds, but for them it will be hours, days even months." Tyronos watched as the battle unfolded in front of him, his tank moving on its own. He jumped out of the tank, walking towards the river in the middle of the battlefield, Kojic following him. "I'm going to prove to you that they aren't going to survive, this time tear has a specific time, date, and planet that they will be forced to travel to. And since you are stuck in this little time freeze with me all you can do it watch."

"We'll see about that." Tyronos watched as the battle came to an end, seeing Fox get crushed under Tricky's weight, watching both of them head to their arwings, he even saw Falco and Slippy boost off into the atmosphere towards the Great Fox.

"You do not possess the skill to stop their fate. You represent all the people in this world who don't deserve the gifts they possess, you can channel time's reverse flow to your heart's content, and you have taking that slut of a girlfriend with you, disrupting the flow of time, the very fabric that makes us all the same in the end." Kojic slowed down time enough for Tyronos to watch Fox and Krystal become engulfed in a familiar purple bubble.

"NO!" Tyronos yelled, being blocked by a time barrier, he watched in horror as the bubble disappeared in front of him. "I told you to leave them out of this! You will not ruin my chance at redemption!"

"You haven't earned the right to redemption; I shall see to it that you never achieve that!" Kojic disappeared after that, times flow restored to normal, leaving Tyronos staring blankly at the spot were Fox and Krystal once were.

"I couldn't save them… I've failed…" Tyronos mumbled, falling to his knees.

"Tyronos what the hell? What happened to Fox and Krystal?" Falco yelled from the Great Fox. Tyronos couldn't speak; his mind wasn't letting him think.

"I've failed them… I promised…I promised…" Tyronos kept repeating himself, not listening to Falco non-stop cursing, or Slippy's squeaking, or even Peppy's requests for him to return to the ship.

"Tyronos, my love… it isn't like you to give up hope."

"Zarah?" Tyronos felt himself enter that familiar dream like state whenever Zarah spoke with him.

"You must be strong my boy."

"Grandpa?" Tyronos felt their spirits fill his body.

"Channel this energy, you can bring them back." Zarah's spirit floated over him, her arms slowly falling over his body, covering him.

"But they can't come back unless they finish what they have to!" Tyronos whined, sounding like a five year old again.

"Yes, but rules like these are meant to be broken." Kojic said with a wink. "This is how you will beat the one who claims that he is me, he works for a person who believes in rules, strict rules. You can beat him, but it will take you more time… but that is that thing you have an abundance of."

"If I can break the rules for them, can't I break the rules to get you guys back?" Tyronos felt Kojic's spirit hug him as well, filling him up with energy.

"We are victims of your fate; we cannot be brought back as we were tools of your success, and your power." Zarah whispered. "We may not be recovered to any time stream, we exist only with you. "

"You must focus Ty, focus and bring back those lost in time's flow." Kojic and Zarah disappeared, leaving Tyronos to deal with three people yelling at him.

"Guys." Tyronos said firmly, causing the three Star Fox members to shut up. "Watch and learn!" Tyronos closed his eyes and searched through time, using this new energy to form a hand, he moved through past, present and future on countless realities, searching for the two missing foxes.

"What the hell is he doing?" Falco snapped, watching Tyronos glow slightly as his power coursed through his veins.

"Tyronos's clan had mild control over time, like he said when we defeated Star Wolf." Slippy watched in awe. "He said he could only make himself come back to this time…"

"He's getting Fox and Krystal… he's somehow pulling them back to this time!" Peppy stood up and paced behind his chair.

"Got ya!" Tyronos smirked wrapping his hand around Fox and Krystal, pulling them back to Sauria. His mind ached through the effort, his body demanded him to shut down, but he keep pulling them back, knowing that if he let go they may get lost in time forever. '_What maybe seconds for you could be hours for them…'_ Kojic's words echoed in his head. '_Rules are meant to be broken…'_

"Holy shit!" Slippy swore as the purple bubble appeared behind Tyronos. As the bubble shrank, both Krystal and Fox appeared from it, both of them stumbling around, cheering to themselves as the realize that they were back.

"Get down there Falco, and pick them up!" Peppy ordered, still not believing what he just saw.

"How did we get back?" Fox asked, looking around to see Tyronos, now kneeling, a few feet away. "Ty!" Tyronos looked over and smiled.

"Welcome back you two… hell of a trip those things huh?" Tyronos managed a laugh before falling over, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Ty!" Krystal gasped, rushing to his side, Fox soon beside her. "He's ok… just tired, no exhausted…"

"He must have pulled us back…" Fox sat down. "We should thank him once he wakes up." Krystal nodded, looking up to the sky to see an Arwing flying towards them.

"We were there for a while; I wonder how long it's been here?" Krystal waved at Falco as he landed.

"I don't know, I just want to go sleep on an actual bed for a change!" Fox looked over at Falco as he reached them. "Buddy, we've been through one hell of a lot. No questions, just get us back on board."

"Fair enough, how's Ty?" Falco asked, picking up the grey fox, by the feet and dragging him towards his arwing. Fox and Krystal glared at him. "What? It's not like he's awake to feel it!"

* * *

**Future**

Marcus pulled the SD card out of the laptop and closed the screen. "So you saved them huh?"

Tyronos nodded, stopping the car and getting out. Marcus followed him, handing back the two items to the other fox. "The hardest I had ever focused my powers back then. I couldn't let them get caught up in my mistakes, my fate."

"Where are we?" Marcus asked as they entered a long corridor in an abandoned looking apartment building.

"This will take us to the old base I told you about. From there, things get fun." Tyronos led Marcus down the hallway.

"What do you mean by fun exactly?"

* * *

**And so on**and so forth, the chapters... feel shorter as 'action' isnt my strong point in descriptiveness, but the next chapter should be longer... and check out for a spin off story of Fox/Krys's adventures in a I.P.T.T.!

Laters!

H-T


	9. Chapter 9 Full Update

**Full update** April 12 /10, sorry for the delay. Totally changed where I was going with this, but still... Enjoy!

* * *

**Future – Underground Base**

They walked for what seemed like hours, Tyronos's wrist com providing a dim light as the grey scaled walls past by. Marcus sighed for the umpteenth time. He went to say something before going against it and keeping his mouth shut.

"We're almost there. Stop complaining." Tyronos snapped, growling at the impatience of the younger vulpine.

"I didn't even say shit." Marcus folded his arms and followed, where ever Ty was leading him it had better be damn well worth it.

"You don't have to speak to be impatient; your body language is quite loud enough." Tyronos stopped in front of a random wall. "Wait." He tapped the wall a few times, testing it for the hallow parts. "Alright, we're here, hold on a second." Tyronos pushed against the wall, revealing a secret door, the bright light blinded them for a few seconds before their eyes adjusted.

"What the hell… this is under Corneria?" Marcus watched in awe as a room full of computers and machines extended past his view.

"Never heard of Andross have you?" Tyronos pushed the door closed again, walking past Marcus. "We don't have time to watch the pretty little screens kid, walk and talk let's move it!" Tyronos pulled Marcus along, letting him go as the younger fox finally moved at the same pace as him.

"I have heard of Andross you know, my Dad is famous for defeating him."

"Andross had many secret research facilities at his disposal, this one is the last one still in operation, however I used it for a different reason than mass murder and trying to rule the world…" Tyronos pushed open a door, leading to a smaller dark room. "Now where is that…. Ah here it is!" He flicked the light switch on, the old lights slowly powering up.

Marcus's eyes widen as he saw a glow coming from behind a blind in the windows. "What is it?"

"This old thing?" Tyronos grinned as he pushed a button to move the blinds. The machine in the background housed a familiar looking purple bubble. "It's the fun I was telling you about, now listen up while I tell you about the next mission during the Aparoid War… This one really hit close to home.

* * *

**Present – Great Fox Medical Bay**

Tyronos groaned as he moved his joints, the pain reminded him that he was alive. A good thing he supposed, given what he just accomplished. "And so our savior lives." Tyronos turned to face the voice, opening his eyes to the fluorescent light and an orange blur close to it. He blinked a few times before he realized where he was. "Don't try to move just yet. You've been out for hours."

"McCloud." Tyronos forced himself to sit up; fighting the pain his muscles tricked him into feeling. "Hell of a trip, huh?"

Fox nodded with a small smile on his face. "One of the more… intense… of my adventures to say the least." Tyronos chuckled, those time tears could be rather eventful.

"If you don't mind me asking, could you and Krystal record what happened?" Tyronos received a look that required little explanation. "Look, that I.P.T.T. was never intended to be used by anyone but me. I need to keep a record of what happened in all of them, it doesn't have to be right now, but the sooner the better, while it's still fresh in your minds."

"I'll ask Krys if she doesn't mind, we'll get back to you." Fox stuck out his hand, waiting for Tyronos to shake it. "You have my thanks, without you, Krystal and I would be lost in time."

Tyronos grasped Fox's hand. "No one deserves to be punished for someone else's fate. It was the least I could do…" Tyronos shook Fox's hand. '_At least I think it was…' _

"I've got to report to Pepper, whenever you feel up to it, come up to the bridge." Fox released his grip and walked out of the medical wing. Tyronos sunk back into the bed, his mind demanding rest.

* * *

**Great Fox Bridge**

"Think he'll pull through?" Falco asked everyone as they waited for Rob to patch them to Pepper.

Fox nodded. "I was speaking to him a few minutes ago, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"I still can't believe what happened." Krystal crossed her arms, the more she thought about the more, the more it hurt her head. Fox walked over to her and hugged her from behind.

"We survived, and that's the main thing." Fox whispered into her ear. He released her from his grasp reluctantly as Pepper appeared on the screen.

"Everyone, heed closely to what I'm about to say. While you were on Sauria a colossal aparoid armada appeared. The majority of the Cornerian Defense Fleet… was decimated." Pepper looked as solemn as his words. The team stood in shock of his words, how could the aparoids inflict such destruction on an entire fleet when they could take them out as a group of five?

"Shit, how could this happen?" Fox punched at the air in anger.

"The one silver lining is that you are alright, for the most part. How is Tyronos?" Pepper seemed to be losing strength somehow, like spreading sickness was ebbing away at his energy.

"He'll be fine, and ship ready in a few more hours." Peppy looked at the aged general, he was hiding something from the team, but he couldn't figure out what. "Sooner if we need him."

"The invasion has progressed at an incredible speed." Pepper looked around him, clearly looking for something, but unable to locate it.

"Rob, what's the condition of the surface?" Fox yelled, Rob quickly began a scan of the planet.

"Radar Jammers are in place, radar is inaccessible." Rob announced, bringing the info up on screen behind Pepper.

"This just gets better and better." Slippy muttered.

"The aparoids are using radar jammers, based on technology we know nothing of." Pepper grumbled out, the team sensed a change in him, but no one called it out.

"That doesn't matter; one shot will still take them out!" Falco put on his trademark grin. "And I know just the ace to do it!"

"You must hurry! I'm already—"Pepper's link faded out as the transition was lost.

"G-General!" Fox yelled, reaching out to the blank screen.

"Damn it, he's in real trouble. We've got to clear out those jammers!" Peppy stood up and made for the door. "Falco head to the surface, we'll need a contact down there! Fox, Krystal and Slippy get to your arwings. I'll see if Ty can get moving."

"Roger!" Krystal said as the four pilots quickly made their way to their ships, the battle for Corneria, had just begun.

* * *

**Great Fox Medical Bay**

Tyronos sat up in his bed, holding onto Zarah's tags, he was lost in them. Somehow, by just having these tags he was at peace, even with a conflict going on outside. '_If I could turn back time for them and not for you… what's the sense of even using this power? You did nothing wrong, and it was my fault you died.'_Tyronos gripped the tags tight, closing his eyes. '_Why aren't I allowed to save you?'_

"Ty!" Peppy yelled as he bursted through the door. Tyronos looked over at Peppy, unable to hide the sorrow and the guilt he felt. "We've got to save Corneria! Come on!"

"Seriously?" Tyronos attempted to laugh. "Do you know how much the bounty on my head is there?"

"Not high enough to get us on your tail, figuratively speaking." Peppy smiled at Tyronos, who managed a grin. "I understand you know, losing a loved one is never easy. She was a great girl no doubt, and I know she wouldn't want you moping around while there are lives to save."

"Nope, she wouldn't." Tyronos said throwing the blankets off his body, quickly throwing on his flight suit. "She was the one live I wanted to save though. Now that she was burdened by my fate, she'll only be a spirit."

"She'll watch over you. Somehow the souls of our loved ones tend to stick around." Peppy waved Tyronos over. "Come on, do this one for her." Tyronos nodded, patting Peppy on the shoulder.

"Seems I'm not the only one on this ship that can give a motivational speech." Tyronos followed Peppy to the bridge. "What do I got to fly?"

"We've got either a land-master or wing riding." Peppy walked towards a chair, sitting down comfortably before turning back around to Tyronos. "But seeing as how a land-master might be more of a hindrance than helpful…"

"Tell me who to ride with." Tyronos smiled as he opened the elevator door. "Blasters got unlimited ammo right?"

"Yup, I'll get Krystal to fly back and get you, from what I've been hearing Falco's having one hell of a fun time."

"Good." Tyronos watched the doors close in front of him. "Wouldn't be like him not to."

* * *

"Alright scumbags." Falco yelled as he touched ground. "Lets see what you got!"

"They call this Corneria?" Fox looked over the destroyed city, a little bit of deja vu hitting him. "This place has seen better days."

"You should be able to get a bead on the from the surface Falco." Peppy sat back in his chair on the bridge. "Seems that they might be bunch together under the radar jammers too!"

"More to kill? Alright!" Falco grinned, picking up a nearby sniper, and aiming it at the nearest jammer.

"If they're blocking our radar it means their getting smarter!" Slippy flew around the city, looking for a target, cursing the lack of radar.

"You're our surface contact, Falco. Good luck!" Krystal said as she reentered the city limits, with Tyronos holding onto the wing, blaster at the ready. "You alright Ty?"

"I'll be fine, let get this city saved before they realize who I am." Tyronos muttered, shooting a stray enemy that he saw.

"There ya go Falco, thats one down and who know how many others to go!" Fox looked out of his canopy to see Falco destroying one of the jammers.

"Those fucked up looking eye things are easy enough to take down, Good thing we sent me down here, eh Sure shot?" Falco could almost see Fox flipping him off. "Love you too Foxie."

"Falco stop being a huge flirt and kill these things!" Tyronos yelled, causing the other members of the team to laugh.

"Ty, shut the hell up." Falco muttered, shooting down some ground enemies before moving onto the next jammer. He ran behind one building, quickly dodging a surprise attack from an aparoid, he switched to his machine gun, ending it quickly. Falco grinned at his easy kill before switching back to his sniper, aiming at the jammer, and taking it out as the eye opened. "Another one down, this is too easy!" Falco's laugh was cut off as he was hit by a blast from a solider, he returned fire and ran towards the next jammer, favoring his right arm.

"Not looking so good down there Falco, are you sure we sent the right guy?" Slippy jokingly asked, more worried about Falco's safety. "There should be some med kits near your area, look out for one."

"Yeah, because running into a floating box will cure any and all wounds!" Falco replied sarcastically, before seeing one of those boxes, he walked up to it and reached out for it, to his surprise it disappeared around him, but his arm now felt fine. '_The hell... Slip was right? Whatever.'_ Shrugging it off Faclo aimed towards the third jammer. "Open your eye mother-" Falco took the shot as he swore, effectively censoring himself.

* * *

**Cornerian Space**

**"**Tell me again boss, why are we going to help not only the Cornerian Army, but Star Fox as well?" Leon hissed as the three wolfen sped towards the besieged planet. Wolf growled at the outburst, the trip had been almost quite enough to be relaxing, minus the irritating questions he got every five or so minutes.

"Leon, I've told you this before." Wolf rubbed his temples feeling a headache coming on. "We are going to go help Fox's team just to show them that they are useless without us?"

"How exactly?" Panther chimed in. "They kinda kicked our ass outside of Sargasso. Likely saw our downed ship in the asteroid fields. I could go on..."

"Panther, so help me. I'll end you." Wolf sighed, the jungle cat had a point, if Fox and his team had beaten him at every turn in the past why would they need him now. "They need us because the aparoids are threatening then entire system. Without this system there is no Star Fox, without Star Fox then there wouldn't be a need for Star Wolf... Well unless Andross somehow came back. Anyway that's not the point, we're going to stick with the plan we made."

"Right." Panther looked back towards the planet, grinning. "I'll finally swoon the lovely Krystal."

Leon, at that point, wished he could fire a nova bomb at Panther. "You idiot. What you do on your OWN time is up to you, this is Star Wolf time."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Wolf smiled slowly. "We're going to kill them with kindness so to speak." Wolf looked back and forth between the other two pilots. "Star Wolf, lets go assist the 'Heroes of Lylat!'"

With that the three Wolfens broke out of their autopilot state, and blasted towards the planet's surface. Ready to assist whatever hell might be going on.

* * *

**Corneria City**

"Our radar is almost fully back online!" Krystal cheered, finally being able to use her system instead of looking out of her canopy. Tyronos sighed.

"Good, I was getting tired of telling Slippy to do a loop."

"You're funny Ty! I havent even been followed once!" Slippy retorted. Tyronos looked back over to Slippy's ship, watching him lead a parade of aparoids behind him.

"Yeah.. not even once..." Tyronos cradled his face in his palm. " Krystal we need to go save him again."

"I got it!" Fox shot most of the enemies behind the toad, doing a loop to get behind one of the ones following him. "Slippy, you got one on your tail!"

"What? Get it off me!" Slippy wailed as he took a hit to his wing.

Falco growled as a green arrow showed up on his wrist com. "Damn it Slip." Falco looked up to the skies, finding Slippy's arwing, shooting the craft behind it. "You're clear Slip, stop bitchin' and get to killing! I got the final two jammers in sight!" Falco aimed for his second last target, watching for the eye to open, as he made to fire though he watched he jammer burst into pieces. "The fu..."

"Make that one!" Fox flew through the newly vaporized aparoid. "C'mon bird, one more and we can clear these guys out!"

"Always stealing my thunder." Falco muttered, running up the nearby building. "And why the hell do these buildings have ramps built on the side of them... who was the mastermind behind this brilliant idea?"

"Who wouldn't want to have a random single man fighter landing on their rooftop!?" Tyronos responded quickly, taking a second to review his responce. "Wait... no you're right, that is odd."

"Whatever, got a bead on the final jammer, then you guys might actually become useful." Falco looked up quickly enough to dodge a blaster shot from Tyronos. "Hey watch it!"

"Sorry man, I couldn't hear you through all that bitching... you say something?" Tyronos grinned at Falco's response. "That is very unprofessional of you."

"Just take it down and radar will be back online!" Peppy yelled, his mind clearly elsewhere. '_Pepper seemed different... I can't place how though...'_ Peppy looked at his map, it was still slightly fuzzy, and his long range radar wasn't going to cut it for such a small area. "Rob keep an eye out for friendly air craft. I got a feeling something is going to happen."

"Affirmative." Rob stood motionless, not really doing a heck of a lot. Though he ran multiple thousands of programs on the ship, Rob never once had the technical incite his model was claimed to have.

"Shouldn't have cheeped out on the memory..." Peppy confirmed to himself, adding it to his mental list of things to do. '_I got a feeling, that I'll need that last arwing we got.'_

"Alright, all jammers are down!" Falco pumped his arms in victory, smiling at his handiwork. "Nothing like a little stroll through downtown Corneria to clear your lungs you know?" Falco ran towards his arwing, stopping as he reached a small deserted spot near some taller buildings. "Hey Fox, remember when you wanted to build a pizza shop here?"

"Shut up Falco." Fox muttered. "We we all drunk and it sounded like a good idea at the time!"

"Enough, we all know it wouldn't have caught on anyway!" Peppy snapped, not really wanted to get into this argument again. Tyronos seemed to look at a camera, facing nothing in particular, and shrugged.

"We got some more aparoids over here! Falco get airborne, the ground is secure!" Slippy yelled, still being followed relentlessly. "Get the one behind me!"

"Jeesh, you're such a pain!" Falco jumped into his arwing and took off, easily catching up to Slippy and taking out the enemies that followed him.

"The hell?" Tyronos whispered, looking at three bright lights in the skies. "Wolfen? So they didn't die this time?"

"Wolfen?" Krystal asked, looking in the same direction as Tyronos. "I can sense their thoughts, it is Wolf's team!" Krystal quickly turned to avoid an incoming aparoid, nearly sending Tyronos flying off the arwing.

"Watch the fuck out!" Tyronos yelled, gripping the wing tightly, breathing hard.

"Krystal watch out!" Fox yelled, boosting towards them, turning his own ship to avoid hitting hers, shooting the aparoid that had managed to sneak behind her. "Ty be useful, get that blaster firing!"

Tyronos sighed. '_Favoritism.' _He pulled the blaster back out, and aimed for the nearest enemy. '_Deja vu... This should be where....'_

_'What gave me away?'_ Tyronos continued to shoot as the familiar voice entered his mind. '_Normally you cant see or hear me until I'm right in front of you.'_

Tyronos grinned, it seemed Kojic's surprise attack was ruined. The familiar time freeze slowed time to a halt, Kojic stood on top of a tall building, one Fox was about to fly over. "Why the lack of action? Scared you've lost your little advantage?"

Kojic laughed. "You think just because you noticed me a few minutes quicker than normal that you've outsmarted me? You over estimate your abilities kid."

"Try me, old man." Tyronos felt Kojic attempting to fast forward time again, he knew that he could stop this, he had to stop it. He felt Zarah's presence comfort him, and began channeling his power.

"So you've managed to gain some power controlling time's reverse flow." Kojic snapped his fingers, his power ceased, and Tyronos pushed back time, leaving him floating in midair. "What now?"

Tyronos swore at his mistake, he let up on his power. He began falling slowly as Kojic brought his power up enough for time to catch up with itself. "Quit playing with me! What the hell do you want?"

"The same thing I've always wanted, my grandson." Kojic snapped his fingers again, suddenly appearing in front of Tyronos. "To catch a renegade of time." Kojic grabbed onto Tyronos's flight suit, throwing him harshly to the ground, time speeding up as Tyronos hit the unforgiving cement below.

* * *

"What the fuck just happened to Ty?" Falco yelled, seeing his stamina meter take a huge hit. "Where is he?"

"See if you cant sense his thought's Krys!" Fox flew towards the Wolfens, finally noticing their presence. '_Wonderful.'_ They still seemed about ten or so minutes out, almost within radio contact.

"Where do these things keep spawning from?" Slippy growled, doing a few loops to avoid enemy fire.

"We need to get down there and get him! I think Kojic is here!" Krystal attempted to connect with Tyronos's mind, but his mental barrier held strong. "I think he's near the building the last jammer was in. Fox you're the closest, see if you can find him!"

"Right, be a few minutes guys, Wolf's team will be here, soon prepare for more advanced combat!" Fox quickly landed on top of the nearest building to the a crater. He noticed a white fox standing over the crater, he knew how this guy was. "Kojic?"

Kojic turned to face Fox, a sick grin on his face. "I do love audiences." Kojic turned back to Tyronos's body. "Be amazed, be startled, be otherwise stupefied. For this is how you catch a renegade." Kojic jumped into the crater, a hidden blade now in his grasp. Fox ran towards him, trying to stop Kojic before he could kill Tyronos. "What?"

"Miss me gramps?" Tyronos asked, now standing behind Fox, clutching his side. "You've lost Kojic, you cannot interfere with anyone within this time stream, not anymore. We both know what would happen should _they_ find out."

Kojic sighed, clearly angry. "You've won this round, but mark my words. You've got seconds left." Kojic snapped his fingers once more, disappearing once more. Fox shook his head.

"I seriously need a vacation." He threw his hands up in defeat, heading back to his arwing. He felt Tyronos grab his shoulder, turning him around.

"I'll drive, you shoot." Tyronos wrapped an arm around Fox's neck for support. "You'll have a better shot now anyway. Kojic really messed me up, and I can only do so much to reverse time. I'll fill you in later, I dont want to pull away too much from the main story here." Fox looked at him, and nodded, he could have questioned what had happened, but he didnt think he could handle it, not before he had a stiff drink.

"Alright, I'll wing ride." Fox helped him to the arwing. Fox turned his to face the horizon, looking for the Wolfens.

"GET OUT OF THERE YOU GUYS!" Falco shouted, trying to fend off the sudden wave of enemies that was surround the two foxes. Tyronos started up the arwing, quickly boosting away from the gather group of aparoids. Fox, felt his grip falter then fail as he fell back to the group, landing hard on the roof top.

"Fox!" Krystal cried, boosting towards the roof. She wanted to shoot, but at the same time didnt want to hurt Fox. "Get up Fox!"

Fox groaned, fighting the new pain in his back. "You're a pathetic sight pup." Fox stood up as quickly as he could, eyes wide as he saw Wolf's ship.

"Wolf!" He yelled, noticing the charged blast coming towards him. Fox ran to the edge of the building, somehow falling to his death seemed the best idea at the time. "AARRRGGG!" he yelled as he jumped to his pending doom. Fox expected to hit the ground, opening his eyes when he hit something else much sooner than he thought. '_What are the odds...'_

_'One lucky son of a bitch.'_ Slippy thought, finally getting ahead of the enemies that had been following him for the last while. "What is Star Wolf doing here?"hey flew away.

"We got tired of Star Fox taking credit for saving the system." Leon flew towards Falco following him as they flew away from the rest of the group. "That and we were bored."

"Thanks for the support Leon." Wolf growled. Flying around to get a better view of the battlefield. Fox held on to the wing, bracing for anything. "You're a miserable sight pup."

"Fuck you too." Fox growled, finally standing up. "Lets worry about not getting shot down ok? Don't really want to go through that scare again."

"Shut up and get ready to shoot." Wolf snapped, finally turning for an attack run. "Let's clear the road Fox!"

Tyronos flew around, getting used to the controls of Fox's arwing. Shaking his head as he went over what happened with Kojic again and again in his mind. '_There is no way he's that strong. How can I beat him when I barely can control this so call power I have?'_ He sighed, things never worked out like this before. '_Why do I fell so connected to this time anyway? It's just like all the other realities, so why can't I take the I.P.T.T? I should have left this time days ago.'_

_'Because this is the time you belong in.'_ Kojic whispered into his mind. '_And even though your mind is telling you to leave, your heart and soul belong to this time.'_ Tyronos stared at the controls, thinking over what was to happen. '_You can't save them all you know. If you do, it'll turn them into renegades. You told me I can't interfere, but once you help them more than once, it leaves them in the same boat you are.'_ Kojic laughed, disappearing as Tyronos moved to avoid a building.

"You stay the hell away from them!" Tyronos growled. His threat was empty, like he wished his head would be. He knew now that he would have to leave, and do it quickly, Kojic was the kind of person to go against what was ordered of them. Including the Keepers of Time. '_This... After this... I'm gone.'_ He felt a tear roll down his face. '_The only home I had, now I'll leave it again.'_

"Ty!" Tyronos heard the voice, but barely responded to it. '_You know when you get emotional your barrier drops.'_ Tyronos wanted to laugh, he wanted to show some form of happiness, but nothing came.

'_Yeah, Zarah always told me she could read me like a book when I was sad.'_ Tyronos tightened the grip on the controls, not bothering to wipe the sorrow from his face. '_I'm sorry you had to hear this Krystal, but this is my final mission with you guys._'

Krystal didnt say or think anything in response, she understood, somehow, they knew it was for the best.

"I don't believe it, is that the General's Flagship?" Peppy yelled drawing the two out of their conversation.

"Is that you Fox? Too late, I'm already an Aparoid!" Pepper spoke calmly over the channel.

"General Pepper!" Slippy cried, blasting his way towards the ship, making little progress.

"NO!" Fox closed his eyes, not believing what he saw. "This cant be happening."

"You must shoot me. My body isnt under my control, Team Star Fox and Star Wolf, please... shoot me!" Pepper felt his ship transform into a humanoid robot.

"That's the truth of it." Wolf said bluntly, causing the other pilots to regain focus. "Get that blaster trained on him Fox."

Pepper's ship came speeding towards Wolf's raising an arm as if to smash Wolf's wing. Fox cursed himself as he opened fire on his longtime friend and mentor. His constant blasts keeping the larger ship at bay.

"I guess it's for the best." Slippy couldnt control the tears that fell down his face.

"You crazy old fool." Tyronos boosted to catch up to Pepper's Ship, firing at it from behind. '_Never really understood why with six ships flying around, no one could follow Pepper and do this...'_ He shrugged as he held down his trigger sending volley after volley of bolts towards Pepper's transformed vessel. Pepper turned around slowly, taking aim at Tyronos's ship.

"I never thought I'd be fighting all of you!" Pepper yelled as his ship started to show signs of damage. Tyronos grinned, firing a nova bomb at the ship, causing further damage.

"We might just end this with hurting the exterior." Peppy voice slowed down as Kojic's voice boomed within Tyronos's mind. '_You cannot save them all!!!'_

'_You've got to get out of here!_' Zarah yelled. Tyronos watched in horror as six time tears formed around the ships.

"NO, I CAN SAVE THEM!" Tyronos fought with all his might, but Kojic was just too strong. His power had grown beyond anything Tyronos could handle. _'_

_Listen to Zarah, Ty!'_ The real Kojic's voice entered his mind as well. '_You can beat him, but not with what you have now!'_ Tyronos cried out in rage, watching the ships, one by one, get engulfed in the purple bubble. "Remember, you have control over time's reverse flow. You can undo this, and make the team save." Tyronos didn't recall speaking those words, but he know knew what to do.

_Do you bury me I'm gone,_

_Do you teach me while I'm here,_

_Just as soon as I belong,_

_Then it's time I disappear_

With a focus he never knew he had, Tyronos felt time begin to flow backwards, he closed his eyes remembering what he had done to get to this point. He remember, what had caused him to get here, what had started his fateful encounter with the Star Fox team. Everything went an eerie silence. Tyronos felt light headed, like he had just woken up from a long nap.

"Unidentified Vessel, this is the Cornerian Army Juggernaut _'Sword', _you are within firing range, please identify yourself or you will be shot down."

Tyronos jumped at the voice. Had he really gone back in time? Was this really starting again?

"This is Tyronos, call sign 'Hopeless', Ship: _Kojic_, it won't be in your records so don't bother looking. I know General Pepper can hear me so... let him know, I'll pass."

"Are you sure 'Hopeless'?" Pepper's voice ranf through his modified arwing's sound system. Tyronos looked to his left, noticing a time tear.

"Yeah. Positive, Star Fox has got this without my aid. Oikonny will live for another day." Tyronos sighed, letting his head fall to his chest. He felt something metal touch his neck. He reached down to grab it, felling at once, the familiar metal of Zarah's dog tags. "Maybe next time." With that Tyronos boosted towards the I.P.T.T. it's familiar glow vanishing as he entered it.

* * *

**Epilogue**

In theory what I just told you never happened, as there is no record of it, minus what I managed to piece together. I heard they beat the apariods just fine without me. Your mother and father were closer than ever at the end of the war. The day belonged to Star Fox and Star Wolf, the saviors of Lylat. I opted to stay away, because they didnt deserve to get caught up in what I stirred. My fate belongs to me, and I intend to share it with as few people as possible. Heh, I guess I already fucked up that plan. Since that last time freeze I haven't heard anything from Kojic's spirit, and Zarah's visits have been few and far between. It's been a long time since I've had constant company.

Before you get all teary eyed, listen up. Kojic is bending the rules, and he is making everyone I've met suffer for my actions. So now we are going to stop it. I'm not sure how it's going to work out, or even if it will. But I assure you, the next time we met, I'll be ready for whatever he has. We'll need to get you prepared, can't have anymore loose ends, and since you are the only one I've let capture me, I'd say you've got a good start.

I really am sorry for dragging you into this, but now it's safer for you to be near me. I can correct some mistakes, lets hope we don't make too many. C'mon kid, lets go see if we can't save your parents. Our real adventure.

Starts now.

* * *

**Done!** This story took a turn that I didnt expect, and I felt as though this was a good place to end it. I was going to continue with the next mission and end it there, but that ending was scraped, then my computer crashed, leaving me with 2k words to work with. Again sorry it took so long to get this out. Keep an eye for more crazy adventures!

H-T


	10. Epilogue Cont

_'TY!'_

"It's been years."

'_Too bad the people I get close to tend to die._'

"Since I brought anyone into these with me."

_'__I'm Marcus McCloud, and you, 'Hopeless', I have spent my entire life looking for you, I have a score to settle with Oikonny, and you will help me get it.'  
_

"I know I've ask this before."

'_Your thoughts are much to scrambled for me to focus on. What did you want to tell me? How I should remember you?_'

"Are you ready?"

_My fate belongs to me, and I intend to share it with as few people as possible._

"Good. I don't know where this will send us, but we're going to have to make due with what we got."

* * *

I suppose I should reintroduce myself. I'm on the run from a very dangerous vulpine.

_'You can't hope to save them all!'  
_

Kojic, my so-called grandfather, has broken the laws of time. He's going to kill me, it's just a matter of when. Every single time we meet I'm one second closer to death, one more false step before I fall blindly to my impending doom.

But that ends now.

Now, I'm the one breaking the rules, now I can get back at him. Along with an old friend's son, Marcus and I will take down Kojic, once and for all. Right now we're fleeing from him, we need more time to get our strategy hammered out.

If anyone has picked up this holo disk, then we were unsuccessful, and you are now in danger... Toss this into the nearest water source, cut out it's circuitry! If you found this intentionally then I guess you know who I am already...

My name is Tyronos, call sign 'Hopeless' and this ----

Tyronos crushed the holo disk in his hand, it was an old recording. One of his firsts. He looked around, finding his barings as he always did after a I.P.T.T. He turned to see Marcus, the kid was taking his first trip rather well, all he did was stare blankly into the setting sun. Somehow, it was calming him down. "Wake up kid we're here."

"Where exactly is here?" Marcus asked in a dreamlike tone. "That sunset is amazing."

"Corneria... back when I was a kid." Tyronos sighed, dreading the idea of facing this again. _'The day he died.'_

* * *

**Just a **little teaser for you guys!

Let me know what you think! (This will eventually become a sequel, just checking on the want/demand factor

H-T


End file.
